Counter Assault
by ExquisiteEdward
Summary: A broke and down on his luck Edward Cullen moves to the small town of Forks and encounters a hysterical cast of characters. But when he sees the pretty girl behind the counter at Swan Automotive, he falls hard. Now all he has to do is get her to fall in love with him. And with his wit and charm, he figures it won't be long before he captures her heart. Rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I have to write the funny. Hehe. ;)) This story will be entirely in Edward's point of view.**

**Thanks to Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen for being so awesome and for reading this thing multiple times. I love you guys. ;))**

**SM owns Twilight.**

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_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 1**_

_**EPOV**_

I wadded the wrapper from my burrito that I'd just downed for breakfast into a ball and aimed at the sink. I grinned in satisfaction at my perfect bank shot off the window. My trash can lay buried somewhere so the sink would have to do for now.

Grabbing my coat, I walked around the boxes piled in my living room, looking for my shoes because I had to get over to the diner. I snarled a string of curses when I caught my toe on a box and almost took a dive face first.

I locked up the house and climbed into my car, literally. I turned the ignition and… nothing. Narrowing my eyes, I turned and turned and turned it and still nothing. I yelled, banging my fist hard against the steering wheel. I immediately winced and grabbed my hand, holding it to my chest even more pissed off because now not only did I have no wheels, but my hand hurt like hell.

The driver's side door of my thirty-year-old Volvo wouldn't open so I had to haul my 6' 2" frame over the gear shift to the passenger side to get out of the stupid thing. Once I crawled out – being careful I didn't rip my nuts off – I angrily slammed the door shut as hard as I could. My eyes narrowed as a big chunk of rust dropped from the door onto the driveway. I really hated that car.

I plunked myself on the steps to the house that I'd just moved into and stared at that stupid Volvo.

The longer I sat the more pissed off I got.

"Hey there, how are ya?" I heard a male voice call out. I looked up to see an old homely guy approaching me.

"Hey," I replied, a bit wary.

"I live across the street," he said as he thumbed towards the house behind him. "I'm Waylon Forge."

He stuck out a hand covered in liver spots; I stood and shook it. "Edward Cullen."

"Good to meet ya. Saw the moving truck here yesterday, but didn't get a chance to come over. Where ya from?"

"Seattle."

"Hmm…" he said, scratching the top of his mostly bald head. "What made you move to Forks?"

Inquisitions were not something that I particularly enjoyed participating in. I could see the old guy just wanted to be nice and neighborly, but I was in a foul mood and didn't feel like chatting it up.

"Um, there were a few reasons," I hedged. "Hey, do you know anything about cars?"

"Sure do. What seems to be the problem?"

"I don't know. It won't start," I said popping open the hood for him. Within ten minutes old Waylon had diagnosed my problem: I needed a new starter.

"I guess I'll have to have it towed somewhere…" I frowned, rubbing the back of my neck and looking around, trying to figure out what to do next. I didn't know a single thing about the town I'd just moved to, and I sure as heck didn't know anything about a starter.

"Well, I'll tell ya what. If you go buy a starter, I'll put it in for ya, no charge. Though, by how old this hunk-a-junk looks, it's probably gonna take a few days for it to come in."

I stared at the old guy for a moment, and that's when I noticed he had some kind of a weird tick going on. Every few seconds, he would scrunch his nose up like a rabbit. Twice, real quick-like. I tried not to stare, but found myself unable to stop. "Oh, no, I couldn't do that. I'd have to pay you something."

"Nonsense," he said. "You'll find living in a small town is a lot different than the big city. We always try to look out for each other here."

He unclipped a giant set of keys from his belt and took one of them off before handing it to me. "I own the marina down at the lake, and I gotta run down there real quick. Somebody was out fishing and their boat stalled on 'em so I gotta haul 'em back in. This key is to my old truck over there." He motioned towards a beat-up green clunker sitting in his driveway. "Take it into town and order a starter. I'll put it in for ya when it comes in."

He rattled off directions to a Swan Automotive and then took off for the marina. I climbed into his beat-up Ford pick-up truck and grabbed my nose when I got a whiff of what smelled like rank body odor mixed with a little rotten fish tossed up with a side of some jacked-up feet. I rolled the windows down, freezing my nads off and breathed only through my mouth. I definitely exceeded the speed limit on more than one occasion in my haste to get the heck out of that truck.

I decided I would take Waylon up on his offer to fix my car, but I'd force some money on the old man for the work. I had to get my car fixed somehow and cash was a bit scarce at the moment.

I easily found the automotive store. As I pulled into a front row spot, I saw a guy who looked to be about my age sitting in a lawn chair facing the big glass window of the store. He was a huge dude and had his hands spread out flat against the glass with his nose smashed against the window. I frowned completely confused because it was one of the weirdest things I'd ever seen. What in the world could the guy be looking at? He had to be freezing his nuts off since it couldn't have been more than thirty degrees outside.

I glanced around and didn't see another single soul in sight. And I could not for the life of me figure out what the guy was staring at inside an automotive store of all places. Did he have a thing for oil filters or something?

As I stood there and continued to gawk at him, I noticed what looked like several large signs of some sort leaning against the window beside him. I just shook my head. Forks seemed to be plum full of lunatics.

When I got to the entrance of the store, I paused before entering, staring at the odd dude one last time. He never once looked in my direction. He just sat there staring, completely transfixed on something inside that store, and my curiosity was killing me. I followed his line of sight to see if I could figure out what the weirdo was staring at and… that's when I saw her. And my, oh my, if she wasn't a sight to behold. My cock reared his nosy head and stood up, trying to get a closer look at her with me.

All I could see was legs... long, bare naked legs.

And creamy, pearl-colored skin, curvy calves and silky thighs...

Along with a pair of sky high black stilettos…

And a way too tight black skirt, hugging a perfectly round, bite-worthy little ass.

She wore a black and white T-shirt – definitely a size too small – outlining some perfectly perky tits.

Her long, dark hair flowed down her back, curling softly at the ends.

I had to take back every negative thought I had about the creeper sitting outside the window. No wonder that guy had a front row seat. Where was _my _lawn chair because my curious cock and I wanted to take up residence right next to the dude and enjoy the spectacular view.

My heart started doing all kinds of funky stunts in my chest as I watched in kind of a stunned daze as she walked slow and sexy in front of the counter before disappearing behind it. Did she work there? Because who wears something like that to work in an automotive store in the middle of winter? Eagerly, I yanked open the door, ready to find out more about the sexpot I'd just seen.

As I approached the desk, I frowned because she'd disappeared. I could swear I'd just seen that superhot chick go behind the counter.

I leaned over it and my lips instantly curled up as I stared down at her. She sat hunkered down behind the counter on a small step stool. Those sexy heels of hers were kicked off, lying on the floor in front of her. She had one leg crossed over the other, furiously massaging her small foot. Even her little toes were cute, the tips painted some sort of tempting red color. All the while she had ear buds in her ears, singing loud and horrifically off-key to Kelly Clarkson's _Since U Been Gone_.

I felt out of breath, and could not stop smiling. She was a total knock-out and completely adorable all packed into one hot little package.

She looked up at me, her eyes widening before she let out a shriek of terror. It was so loud and unexpected that it scared the hell out of me. I responded by letting out a small yell myself, but I kept it manly. Yeah, it was a manly sort of yell.

With a tug on her ear buds, she put her hand on her heaving chest. I tried really hard to not watch her tits as they moved up and down, but my misbehaving eyes went there anyway.

"Oh my god, you scared me half to death," she said before standing and letting out the cutest giggle. The sound caused a weird fluttering feeling in my gut. Or it might have been that leftover burrito I had for breakfast. Without those sky high heels on, she was quite tiny. I towered over her by at least a foot. I liked it. It made me feel more masculine after that probably-not-so-manly yell I just let rip.

"Sorry," I said with a chuckle. "I didn't mean to scare you."

She grinned back and shrugged. "That's okay. I kind of get wrapped up in my music sometimes. What can I help you with?"

She continued smiling at me as she leaned her elbows on the counter, waiting patiently for an answer. The movement pushed her tits together, and I wondered what her cleavage looked like under that tight shirt she sported. And what it would feel like to run my tongue over her creamy flesh.

When I finally made myself stop fantasizing about her tits, I remembered her question. And for some reason, I had absolutely no idea what I was in there for. So I just stood there, smiling at her like a stupid moron.

She smiled even wider and peeked around my shoulder. "Um, do you need something for your truck? Wait a minute, isn't that Waylon's truck?"

I turned and looked behind me and finally came back to my senses. "Oh, yeah, he let me borrow it. So what's with that guy at the window?"

"Oh. That's Jacob," she said nonchalantly. "So what can I help you with?"

I looked back at the Jacob dude who was watching us intently. I found it to be a bit disturbing. "Why is he sitting out there like that? Is he on strike or something?"

She giggled again. It was such an attractive sound. It made me feel funny. "No, he's just being his douchebag self," she said before she bent down and pulled out a pair of soft-looking, wooly black socks from underneath the counter. I watched as she quickly tugged them on her feet. Out next came a black hooded sweatshirt that she slipped over her head. On the front of it in bright red letters was "Swan Automotive."

I felt disappointed that she was covering up her cute little feet and perky tits, but I got over that quick when I saw what she did next. Using both hands, she gathered her hair together and pulled it out of her sweatshirt, letting it spill down her back. For a moment, I couldn't breathe. It was like I was watching one of those suntan commercials with the babe in the waterfall except this babe was covered up and the background was windshield wipers and motor oil. Nothing about her actions was the least bit sensual. She was just throwing on some socks and a sweatshirt and fixing her hair. But for some reason, I found her every movement to be erotic. My cock was watching too, and he definitely liked what he saw.

I cleared my throat, thankful that my happy cock was hidden behind the counter. "Why is he a douchebag?"

She tilted her head, tucking her hair behind her ear as she stared at me. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I just moved here yesterday."

She nodded. "Well, if you lived here, you'd know why." Her hands slipped into the front of her sweatshirt. She didn't offer me anything else on the matter, but I couldn't let it go. I needed more information.

"Is he stalking you or something?"

She threw her head back and laughed. It was adorable, her laughter. Everything about her was adorable, and sexy. "Yes, he is definitely stalking me."

I turned my head and glared at Jacob, the douchebag stalker. I was ready to shove my foot up his creepy stalking ass. My glare turned to disbelief when he grabbed a sign and held it up to the window. It had '_I'm sorry. I love you'_ written in large, black messy letters. I turned back to the beautiful girl in front of me and gave her a 'what the heck was that?' look.

A small smile kissed her lips as she simply shrugged at me.

"Why don't you call the police and have him hauled off?"

"I will eventually, but until then, I actually want him stalking me."

I scowled as I studied her face for a moment. "Why would you want someone to stalk you? Do you have a thing for him or something?"

She shook her head. "Definitely not."

"Is it like a… fetish?" Was she into some kind of kinky role playing? I could be a creepy stalker for her if she was into that. And I could definitely make some signs.

I was dead serious with my question, but she threw her head back and laughed so hard that it got me tickled so I ended up laughing with her. She was so cute laughing like that. Once again, I could feel that weird sensation in my stomach. I was never going to eat a leftover burrito for breakfast ever again. She giggled as she wiped at the corner of her eyes. "Not a fetish. I want him to suffer. The douche cheated on me, and he needs to pay for what he's done."

That prick cheated on her? What a dickhead. I turned around and gave him another glare before I finally looked back at the gorgeous girl before me. "How long has he been stalking you?"

"Five days."

My mouth dropped open. "How long does he sit out there?"

"For however long my shift is."

"He stays out there the entire time?"

"Yep."

"Doesn't he have a job?" What kind of loser was this guy?

"Yeah, he works for his dad. His family has a lot of money so he doesn't really have to work."

Great. Now I hated the douche even more.

"Are you going to take him back, after you've punished him?" I asked.

"No way, he cheated. I just like making him suffer." Her pretty little cheeks turned rosy and she looked a little bashful as her fingers toyed with the edge of the counter. "I know it seems kind of weird, but every day I dress in something sexy and prance around letting him know what he's missing. It's kind of my way of getting back at him."

"He must have shit for brains if he cheated on you."

She threw me a sizzling half-grin that made my knees a little weak. Thank goodness I was holding onto the counter. "Exactly," she said. "I know I'm no bombshell or anything, but I'm not too sickening to look at."

"Hardly," I replied. She was a total bombshell and a complete knockout and had definitely knocked me on my ass.

We stared at each other until it started to get uncomfortable. I looked down at my shoes and rubbed the back of my neck. "Oh. Uh, I need to buy a starter."

"Sure," she said. I gave her the year, make, and model of my car. She looked it up on the computer and of course they didn't have it in stock. They could order it, but it would take three days to get it. I told her to order it.

"Your name?" she asked with a cute twinkle in her eyes.

"Cullen, Edward Cullen." The corners of her mouth tipped up before she typed it into the computer. I gave her my address and cell. She printed me off a receipt and handed it to me.

"We'll call you as soon as it comes in."

"Thanks." I shoved the receipt in my coat pocket and stared at her. I didn't want to leave so I needed to come up with something.

I quickly cleared my throat. "You know I was thinking… there is another way you could get back at that douchebag."

She leaned closer to me and grinned. "And that would be…?"

"You could use somebody to make him jealous," I said wiggling my eyebrows and giving her my sexiest grin.

Her smile slowly faded as she pushed away from the counter looking annoyed. I frowned, instantly regretting my words. "I don't think so. I don't play those kinds of games, and trust me I've had just about every guy in this town offer to do that for me already."

Well, shit.

The phone next to the register rang. "I need to answer that. We'll call you when your starter comes in." She nodded and gave me a forced smile before she turned her back to me, answering the phone.

I'd just been dismissed.

I stood there for a minute, nervously drumming my fingers on the counter, debating what to do. I felt like a dick. I don't know what possessed me to say that to her. I was just trying to flirt with her or… I don't know what the heck I was trying to do. I stared at her unbelievable ass and spectacular legs for a few seconds longer before I finally decided to leave before my mouth got me into any more trouble.

As I walked towards the door, the stalker no longer stared at the beauty behind the counter. His hatred-filled eyes were all on me. I glared back at him with as much nasty as I could conjure.

On my way back home as my ears started to get frostbite from hanging my head out the window of Waylon's funked-up ride, all I could think about was that incredible girl behind the counter.

And how I had opened my idiotic mouth, shoved my ratty Converse inside, and managed to screw things up.

I had to make it up to her.

I would, and soon. I just didn't know how yet.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for all of your reviews. Please know I read and cherish each and every one of them. ;)**

**I have a new beta! Thank you to Halo221. And thank you always to my fabulously beautiful group of pre-readers Lfcpam, JayNahNah and betsmecullen.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

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_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 2**_

I hung around the house, unpacking some boxes while I waited on Waylon to get back from doing whatever he had to do at the marina. He stopped by a short time later and told me I could keep his truck until the starter came in. I have to admit I was starting to like the generous old guy, weird tick and all.

I decided to head to the diner again, which had been my original destination before my car died on me. I hopped into Waylon's truck and immediately wished I had a gas mask or some nose plugs to shield me from the deadly fumes. And once again, I had to roll the windows down and hang my head out the window like a poodle to keep from suffocating.

On my way to the diner, I drove past Swan Automotive and of course that douchebag cheating creeper was still sitting out there in his lawn chair. I ignored him and took my foot off the accelerator and let the truck coast really slow as my eyes strained hard through the open passenger side window to try to get a glimpse of that hot chick behind the counter. When my eyes finally caught sight of her brunette hair, I swear my heart skipped a beat. I frowned, rubbing my chest worried that I might need to go see a cardiologist.

The creeper stalker chose that moment to turn around and glare at me. I hadn't even noticed it, but I was stopped dead in the middle of the road. I leaned over and my face split into a wicked grin as I flipped him the bird. He mouthed something in response that I couldn't quite make out before turning back around.

"Dumbass," I mumbled under my breath.

I let my eyes linger a moment longer on the beauty at the counter before I finally took off. The diner ended up being only a couple of blocks away from the automotive store, which I will admit excited me.

I pulled into a parking space, turned off the truck, and just stared. The diner was a throwback straight out of the 50's. It had a neon sign at the top with 'Diner' outlined in red and the exterior looked like it used to be shiny aluminum, now dingy with dirt and age.

I got out of the truck and walked towards the side door where a sign with "Now Hiring" printed on it hung sideways. It looked like it had been hanging there for years. I frowned at the hours: _Open daily from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and closed on Mondays_. Those were some strange hours compared to the "open all night" venues I was used to in Seattle.

I pushed open the door and a bell above my head rang, alerting my entrance. I could hear Ella Fitzgerald playing softly in the background and before I could even take a step, I got hit with the smell of homemade pie and fried chicken. It smelled so good it made my stomach rumble.

On my right, a line of ten or so red stools faced the counter, half of which were occupied. On my left was a handful of red booths facing the front of the diner and filled with customers. The tiny place was packed. I made my way to the counter and sat. The guy a couple of stools over from me looked up and muttered a hello. I smiled and nodded in response just as a chick with big, curly 80's hair placed a menu in front of me, chewing gum like a horse. My eyes located her name tag which read "Jessica." Her tan-colored cotton work shirt was so tight that the straining buttons looked like they might pop at any second.

"Oh, hi," she said in a breathy voice, giggling and batting her eyelashes at me. Her eyes were outlined in thick black eyeliner slightly smudged underneath, and her lids were painted a deep blue. "I'm Jessica. Would you like some coffee?"

"Yeah, black."

She grinned, showing some red lipstick on her teeth before turning and grabbing the coffee pot behind her. I picked up the menu as she poured me a cup. "Thanks," I said with a nod.

"I know I've never seen you around here before because if I had, I'd definitely remember you," she said, gushing and loudly chomping her gum. "Are you just passing through?"

"Nope," I said, continuing to study the menu.

"Are you visiting someone?"

"Nope," I said eyes still on the menu.

"Well, I know you couldn't have moved here because who moves to Forks?" she said, laughing hysterically at herself.

I ignored her. "What are your specials?" I asked my eyes still focused on the menu.

"Oh, well, our specials for today are chicken and dumplings and country fried steak."

I slapped the menu shut. "I'll have the chicken and dumplings. What kind of pie do you have?" I asked eyeing the covered pie plates at the end of the counter.

"Peach, cherry, and blackberry."

"I'll have the cherry."

I should have ordered the blackberry because her nauseating giggle laced with innuendo made my skin crawl. "A la mode?" she asked raising one eyebrow, trying to be sexy or something but only managing to make me cringe.

"Yeah, that's fine."

I handed her my menu. She grinned and giggled again before scribbling down my order and ripping the page from the book in her hand. She turned and tucked it onto a circular metal wheel with clips on it before turning the contraption around for the kitchen. A moment later a hand swiftly reached out through the small window to the kitchen and grabbed the ticket.

I took a sip of my coffee and started looking around the busy diner. The floors were black and white checkered, and there were black and white photographs on the walls. One in particular caught my attention. I studied it for a minute before the corner of my mouth turned upwards.

I looked around at the patrons eating and everyone seemed to be having a good time and enjoying their food. Jessica was the only waitress, and although incredibly annoying and overly flirtatious, she seemed to be handling the workload efficiently. She kept staring at me and every time our eyes met – purely by accident on my part – she'd grin like she'd just won the lottery. It was hard not to roll my eyes at her.

I took another sip of my coffee and caught a glimpse of the cook's body as a plate was shoved into the window, but I still couldn't see a face.

Jessica grabbed my plate of food from the window and set it in front of me. "Chicken and dumplings, better than your grandma could ever make," she said, smiling with that annoying giggle again. "Do you want some more coffee or would you like a soda or something?"

"I'll take a Coke."

"Sure, I'll be right back," she said before clearing her throat. "Anything else I can get you?" she asked in a low voice trying to be seductive. I was surprised she didn't jump over the counter and try to straddle me.

I kept my eyes on my plate. "No, I'm good."

I picked up my fork and almost drooled over the delicious-smelling plate that sat in front of me. I stuck my fork in, and when I put that first bite into my mouth, I swear I moaned at how good it tasted. I think my eyes even rolled back.

"Good, huh?" Jessica asked a moment later, placing a Coke next to my coffee cup.

I hummed and nodded in agreement, grabbing my napkin to wipe my mouth. I ate the food nice and slow, savoring every bite. If I'd been alone, I probably would have licked the plate.

She brought the pie that tasted even better than the chicken and dumplings. I paid the bill and stared in disbelief at her phone number that she'd scribbled on the receipt. I tossed it into the trash and headed towards the kitchen.

"Wait, you can't go back there," Jessica said, grabbing my arm and staring up at me in confusion.

I pulled my arm away from her grip. "Uh, yes I can."

"No, you can't. Nobody but staff is allowed back there."

"Well, since I own this place, I think I have permission to go check out my kitchen."

"What? You what? You own this place?"

"Sure do. I'm now officially your boss. Oh, and I'm Edward Cullen, by the way," I said, holding out my hand to her.

She stared at my hand before her eyes darted to my eyes then back at my hand again. She slowly reached her hand out. "I, I'm Jessica Stanley," she stammered.

"Nice to meet you," I said before lowering my voice, "and no more flirting. It has to stop immediately. If it continues, I'll fire you. Do we have an understanding?"

Her face turned bright red. "I, uh, I wasn't flirting."

"Yes you were. It ends today, got it?"

"I, um, well, okay."

"Good," I said. "Now who's the manager?"

"Mike Newton."

"Where is he?"

"Um, he didn't show up today."

Hmm… that was something I'd have to take care of along with enforcing a new dress code. Those sweatshirts like the ones at Swan Automotive should do the trick. "How many waitresses are there?"

"Just two, me and Tanya," she said.

At my raised eyebrow, she quickly added, "Denali. Tanya Denali."

I nodded. "Oh, and get rid of the gum. That's really annoying," I said before pushing the swinging half-door to the kitchen open.

The kitchen was small, really only big enough for one person. It had an old, industrial-sized stove with six burners, all with either a pot boiling or a skillet on it. Next to that sat a flat top with hamburgers popping and sizzling along with a few strips of bacon. There were two deep fryers filled with fries and onion rings and on the opposite wall was a small prep area with freshly chopped vegetables sitting on a cutting board.

"What the hell do you want?" a voice growled at me. "You can't be with the health department because you assholes were just here, and I passed that shit with flying colors. There ain't a kitchen cleaner in the whole state of Washington than mine, I'll tell you that right now."

I pulled my eyes away from the counter and focused on the person in front of me and I almost busted out laughing. It was Aunt Bee from _The Andy Griffith Show _in the flesh, blue apron included, only shorter and with one heck of a scowl. With the way she talked, I wouldn't have been surprised if she had "Sailor" tattooed on her upper arm. I grinned and took a step towards her. "No, I'm definitely not with the health department," I said with a chuckle. "I'm Edward Cullen. My great aunt left me this place."

I held my hand out to her. She ignored it and her scowl deepened. "Maggie didn't have any family."

I dropped my hand. "I didn't know I had a great aunt until somebody contacted me."

She took a step closer, studying me intently. "Hmm… well, shit fire that had to be a shock."

I grinned. "It most certainly was."

She took in a deep breath. "Maggie hung onto this place until the end, that stubborn old coot. She refused to sell even when she got bad. I hated seeing her sell that house of hers to pay all those medical bills, those thieving bastard doctors. I hope they all burn in hell. Maggie was good people."

"I'm sure she was. I wish I could have met her."

Her eyes narrowed as she stared at me from top to bottom. "So you're going to be my boss, huh, you little runt? You could be my great grandkid running around in his diaper."

I laughed. "Not a chance. You can't be more than twenty-nine, right?"

A big, slow grin spread across her wrinkled face. "I like you, little runt, I like you a lot," she said, sticking her hand out. "I'm Alice Brandon, by the way, the best damn cook on the western seaboard."

I grinned and shook her hand. "I have to whole-heartedly agree with you after that chicken and dumplings I just devoured."

She slowly nodded and smiled in satisfaction. "That's one of my specialties. It has a secret ingredient," she said mischief brewing in her gray-blue eyes.

"And…?"

"It's not a secret if I tell you, you dumbass," she barked before turning back to her cutting board and picking up a knife.

I busted out laughing because I couldn't help myself. It was so weird hearing that kind of language come out of that Aunt Bee body.

I laughed so hard I had to wipe the corners of my eyes. "Well, I just wanted to stop by today to check in and get a feel for things. I look forward to working with you." I looked around unsure of what to say next. "Do you need anything?"

She turned towards me holding a butcher knife in the air, her eyes squinting. I backed up so fast I almost stumbled over my feet in the process. "Runt, I've worked here for fifty-five damn years. Do you think I need anything?"

I held my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay," I said with a chuckle. "You and I are going to have a lot of fun together, Alice Brandon."

She held the knife up a little higher, shaking her head. "These kids nowadays…" she muttered before turning back to her cutting board.

I continued smiling as I located the office, which wasn't much bigger than a small bathroom. I had no clue how to run a diner, but seriously, how hard could it be? I'd figure it out somehow.

On my way out, I checked out the picture that had caught my attention earlier. It was a photograph of Maggie taken decades ago when she was young and vibrant on the day she opened the diner. Pride emanated from her. Even though we had never met, I wanted to somehow make her proud and continue her legacy.

I got in the truck and hung my head out the window once again, my cheeks flapping in the wind. As I approached the automotive store, my heart started acting up so much so that I had to pound on it with my fist. The douchebag creeper was nowhere to be seen, and I felt a little dejected because I knew that meant the beauty was gone too. I stopped in the middle of the street and strained to see if I could see her, but the counter was empty.

As I continued driving, I pictured her beautiful face in my mind and tried to think of an excuse to see her tomorrow. I got hit with an idea and grinned, the cold wind whistling through my teeth.

I was in dire need of a couple or maybe a dozen air fresheners. In reality, I might need to buy out their entire stock.

My first stop tomorrow would be Swan Automotive.

To make a purchase from, and hopefully a better impression on, that beautiful girl behind the counter.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: ****Many thanks as always to my fantastic group of ladies: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. And thanks to my beta, Halo221, who challenges me to become a better writer.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 3**_

The next morning I decided to skip the burrito and eat breakfast at the diner. I knew Swan Automotive didn't open until ten so I'd have to make a trip over there in a couple of hours. Yesterday, my hair resembled a crazed guinea pig from riding around in Waylon's truck with my head hanging out the window so I grabbed my favorite baseball hat and put it on backwards.

My heart started pounding the closer I got to the automotive store. It felt like I had developed some kind of weird Pavlovian response to that place. I stopped in the middle of the street and stared at the darkened windows and empty parking lot wishing it was ten o'clock already.

Sighing, I took off and drove the remaining short distance to the diner. I parked, pulled down the visor, and checked the mirror, worried that I might have icicles in my nose hairs. With nothing dangling, I adjusted my baseball cap, flipped the visor back up, and left the windows down in the hope that it would help air out some of the stench.

I opened the door to the diner and got hit with the smell of bacon and biscuits. Smiling, I closed my eyes and took in another big whiff. Owning a diner was definitely going to have its advantages. A couple of old guys were sitting on the stools and one booth was taken. A different waitress stood behind the counter loading a tray full of food. As I approached her, she looked up at me with a startled expression on her face. I didn't think I had scared her so it seemed a little odd to me.

"Hi, I'm Edward Cullen," I said. "You must be Tanya."

"Oh yes," she said in a timid voice. "Nice to meet you."

"You too," I said. She kept her eyes averted and focused on her task. Thankfully, she was the complete opposite of Jessica. And just the thought of Jessica made me shiver a little – and not in a good way.

Tanya finished loading the tray and I moved out of the way to let her pass. I stepped through the swinging door to the kitchen and frowned. A small, frail-looking old man stood hunched over a cutting board. His long gray hair was pulled back into a pony tail and he wore Martin Scorsese glasses. I stepped closer and addressed him. "Hi, I'm Edward Cullen and you are…?"

"Oh, hi there, I'm Jasper Hale," he said with an infectious grin. He held up his floured hands. "I would shake your hand, young man, but I'm elbows deep in dough. I'm making the noodles for Alice's beef stroganoff."

I chuckled. "No problem. So how many cooks are there? Is it just you and Alice?"

"Oh no," he said with a laugh. "Alice is the one and only cook. And please remember that or she'll make you pay dearly for it. I'm just her lowly prep cook."

I had no idea what a prep cook was. "Uh, what does that mean?"

He smiled and pushed his black-rimmed glasses up with the back of his hand. "I come in early and prep all of the food for her. I cut the vegetables, start the soups, and do any baking she may need. And I also cover the breakfast crowd. Alice comes in around ten each day."

I nodded. "So do you and Alice get along?"

He barked out a loud laugh. "No, we don't, as a matter of fact, and yet somehow we're still married."

My mouth dropped open. "You're married?"

"We sure are, going on fifty-eight years. And before you ask about the last name, she refused to take mine. It hurt my feelings in the beginning but she's a tough old bird, and I realized that as long as I had her heart, the name didn't matter."

I smiled and nodded thinking what an odd couple these two were.

"Have you had breakfast, kid? How about some biscuits and gravy?" he asked.

"I'd love some," I said, grinning. "I'm starving."

Jasper served me up a heaping plate of spectacular-smelling biscuits and gravy, making my mouth water. I thanked him and made my way back to the counter and sat down.

"Coffee?" Tanya asked quietly.

"Black," I said with a grin and a nod. But my brows furrowed when instead of returning my smile, she averted her eyes again. I studied her while she poured my coffee. She reminded me of a young Robin Wright in her long, flowered skirt and her blonde hair pulled back into a severe bun. Her face didn't seem to have any makeup on it that I could see. I paused when I caught sight of a wedding band on her finger. She seemed too young to be married.

I dug into the biscuits and gravy and struck up a conversation with the old guys at the counter. I found out they were regulars, all retired, and came to the diner daily. They entertained me with funny stories about Maggie and Alice and more on the history of the diner.

Around nine forty-five, Alice showed up, walking with a cane. I jumped up and opened the door for her. "Good morning," I greeted her with a wide grin.

Her eyes narrowed into tiny slits. "I can open the door by myself, Runt," she barked before smacking me hard on the calf with her cane. "I'm not an invalid."

"Ow," I said, grabbing my leg. "That hurt."

"Good, now get out of my way," she thundered before hobbling around me.

"Oh hell no," I muttered, chasing after her while limping and rubbing my sore leg. "I didn't open the door for you because you walk with a cane, Alice Brandon. I opened the door for you because I was trying to be a gentleman. Now you don't want to disappoint my mother and have all of those years of her teaching me good manners go to waste now, do you?" My mom left me when I was six months old but old Alice didn't need to know that.

She froze, leaning heavily on her cane and stared me down through those small narrowed eyes. I didn't know if I should cower or maybe duck under a booth or try to stand boldly. I finally just chose the middle ground and bent over and rubbed my sore calf. After what seemed like an eternity, but in reality was only seconds, the corner of her mouth started twitching. "You're a keeper, Runt. Now move outta my way. I got a lot of cooking to do."

I grinned, relief washing over me, and moved out of her way. I watched her until she passed through the swinging door to the kitchen and that's when I noticed that every single person in the diner seemed to be frozen, staring at me with their mouths hanging open. Frowning, I looked around. "What?" I asked.

"Good golly, I've never seen a person talk to Alice like that and _live_," one of the old guys at the counter said in awe.

"No joke," the guy next to him added, nodding his head. "That was impressive."

I chuckled at them before I scuffled my way over to Tanya. "So is Alice always that grumpy in the mornings?" I asked in a low voice.

"Yeah, usually," she said.

My eyes furrowed. "I think her bark is worse than her bite."

Tanya shrugged in response and looked like she was about to take off. I quickly pulled out my cell phone. "Hey, I need to give you my phone number. What's your cell?"

She rattled it off and I called her, adding her to my contacts.

"I need to get Alice and Jasper's cell phone numbers too…"

"They don't have cell phones."

My mouth fell open. "What?"

"Give your number to Alice and add it to the cork board in the back. Don't give it to Jasper. He has problems with his memory."

I had never in my life met a person who didn't have a cell phone. Talk about old school. "Wow, thanks for the heads up."

She nodded and grabbed the coffee pot. I slowly made my way into the kitchen and found Jasper and Alice working quietly side by side. I slipped into my office and located a couple of pieces of paper and wrote my name and phone number down. I posted one of the notes on the cork board and carried the other one over to Alice.

"Here's my cell phone number in case you ever need to get ahold of me. I also put it on the board over there," I said. Alice made a grunting sound and ignored me so I laid the paper in the only clean spot on the counter. "Can I get your home number?"

Alice glared at me for a moment like I was annoying her before she finally rattled off her number. I quickly added it to my phone and then slipped it in my pocket.

"Why thank you," Jasper said. "Now what's your name again, son?"

"It's Edward, but apparently I also answer to 'Runt'."

I smiled when I caught sight of Alice's mouth turning upwards.

"That's a fine name you got there," Jasper said with a grin.

I smiled back at him before stepping back into the dining area. The old guys were still talking about my face-off with Alice, and it seemed I had developed a small fan base. I just chuckled at them and tried to laugh it off, but I will admit it did my ego some good. We talked for a while longer and I glanced at my watch feeling a thrill of excitement buzz through my body when I saw that ten o'clock had finally arrived. I motioned for Tanya.

"Hey, can you pack me up a piece of peach pie to go?" I asked her.

"Sure," she said with a nod.

I said goodbye to the old guys and left the diner with my pie in tow. Once inside Waylon's truck, I hung my head out the window and a burst of frigid air hit me, blowing my hat right off my head. "You've got to be kidding me!" I shouted as I turned and watched my favorite hat roll over and over down the road behind me. I considered turning back, but no way could I have ever caught it.

Sighing heavily, I pulled into the parking lot and my eyes narrowed when I caught sight of Jacob sitting in front of the window again. I pulled into a space as far away from him as I could get and adjusted the rearview mirror to look at my hair. A loud groan slipped through my lips. My hair looked like a mish-mash of hat head and rollercoaster head. I ran my fingers through the mess, trying to get it to lie down, but finally just gave up. I grabbed the piece of pie and opened the truck door, immediately locking eyes with Jacob. The glare he gave me had some heat to it and I was happy to reciprocate.

When I reached the door to the store, I paused, continuing to stare him down. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I asked.

"Don't act like you know me because you don't," he snarled.

"I know enough. How could you have done that to her? You are one stupid motherfucker."

"It's none of your damn business," he growled. "And stay the hell away from her."

"Not a chance. You need to give it up because she's never taking your cheating ass back."

"I mean it. You stay away from her or I _will_ kick your ass."

"Bring it on, Peewee," I said with a wink as I opened the door.

I smiled when I caught a glimpse of the stunning chick behind the counter, and my heart started galloping as I walked toward her. I didn't even know her name yet. Guess I'd just have to call her Counter Girl for now. She had her back to me, dancing her sweet little ass off, her mahogany hair swaying softly down her back. I wondered what it would feel like to slide my fingers through those thick, silky strands.

I set the pie on the counter and just stood there grinning and soaking her up. She had her black sweatshirt on again and a tight pair of jeans that outlined a super fine ass. She had her ear buds in again, singing loud and quite terribly to some song I didn't recognize. She turned around and screamed at the top of her lungs.

I busted out laughing – I couldn't help it. She was so damn cute. She quickly tugged her ear buds out. "You scared me half to death, _again_," she said accusingly, breathing heavily with her hand on her chest.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," I said still laughing.

"We have to stop meeting like this," she said, her beautiful mouth curving upwards into an irresistible smile.

I smiled back. I wanted to meet her like this every day for the rest of my life. "I brought you some pie," I said, pushing the small container towards her.

"Pie?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow at me with a sweet little grin on her lips.

"Peach," I said, grinning back at her.

"Hmm… Alice's peach pie," she mused as she popped open the top of the container. "Are you trying to bribe me or something?" she asked, looking up at me with a glimmer in her candy bar-colored eyes.

I chuckled nervously. "No, I actually brought it as a peace offering. I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I didn't mean to upset you."

She looked over my shoulder at Jacob, her expression growing serious. She sighed softly. "I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. It's just… it's still kind of a touchy subject for me."

"I understand and I'm truly sorry."

"It's not your fault. Besides, pie cures everything, right?" she asked with that delightful smile of hers returning. She picked up the fork and took a bite, her perfect pink lips wrapping around and sliding along that fork. Closing her eyes, she hummed and my cock immediately hardened. I shoved my hands into my jeans pockets and secretly adjusted myself.

She wiped at the corner of her mouth and looked shyly up at me. "Sorry, but Alice's pie is _so_ good."

I smiled back. "I know. I had the cherry yesterday. I haven't tried the peach yet."

"Oh. Well hang on a sec." She set her fork down and disappeared through a door in the back. A moment later, she appeared with another fork in her hand. "Here, you have to try it," she said, smiling and handing me the fork.

My heart did a funky flip at her thoughtful gesture. I took the fork from her and could not stop smiling. I dug into the pie and took a bite. My eyes closed and I groaned loudly. "Mmm, that's some of the best pie I've ever had."

She giggled. "I told you so," she said before sticking her fork in and getting another bite. We stood there sharing that small piece of pie watching each other and grinning the entire time. I loved how her little mouth would twist into the sweetest of smiles. It was one of the most intimate moments I'd ever shared with a woman. It didn't matter one bit that it was in an automotive store of all places with her douchebag cheater ex watching us.

"You can have the last bite," I said with a smile as I pushed it towards her.

"Thank you," she said as she quickly ate it. She tossed the forks and the container in the trash and leaned against the counter. "So, you're going to be running the diner, huh?"

My brows furrowed. "How did you know that?"

"Small town, big mouths," she said with a smile.

I chuckled. "This whole small town thing is going to take some getting used to, but yeah, Maggie was my great aunt and left me the diner. I didn't know her. We actually never even met."

"Oh, she was so sweet, one of the sweetest old ladies I've ever met. You would have loved her."

"That's what I've heard."

"I was heartbroken when she passed away."

I nodded. Her beauty overwhelmed me. My fingers itched to touch her on her cheek, along her jaw, across her pretty lips.

I cleared my throat and glanced behind me. Jacob looked like he wanted to clobber me so I made sure to smile at him nice and big.

I turned back around and my phone rang. Frowning, I pulled it out of my pocket. It was Tanya. "Sorry, I need to take this," I said to my Counter Girl.

"No problem," she responded with a smile.

"Hello?" I said answering it quickly.

"_I'm sorry to bother you, but the toilet in the men's bathroom is overflowing and I can't get it to stop," _Tanya said_._

And what was I supposed to do about that?

I sighed. "Okay, I'll be there in a few," I mumbled before hanging up.

I looked back at the beauty behind the counter. "I'm sorry but I have to go. Emergency at the diner."

"That's okay. Thank you for the pie. It was delicious."

I started walking backwards. "You're welcome and thank you for sharing it with me."

She giggled. "I'm glad you enjoyed it."

I continued walking backward with my eyes on her until I ran into a display for motor oil, almost knocking it over. "Shit! Sorry," I said, causing Counter Girl to laugh adorably. I made sure the display was intact before looking at her again. "Hey, what's your name, Counter Girl?"

She grinned. "_Counter Girl_?" she echoed with a laugh and a shake of her head. "It's Bella, Bella Swan."

_Bella..._

My heart acted up again, doing a kamikaze stunt in my chest. She couldn't have had a more perfect name. It suited her beautifully.

I grinned at her like a fool. "I love your name, Bella Swan," I shouted. Her cheeks reddened and she threw her head back and laughed. Still grinning, I turned around and when I saw Jacob's face, I realized that I may very well be getting my ass kicked in the immediate future.

But I decided it would be worth it.

I'd take a black eye any day of the week in exchange for getting to spend more time with my Counter Girl.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: ****I have so much love for my pre-readers: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. Thank you, ladies. And thank you to my beta, Halo221.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 4**_

My eyes lingered on Bella for just a moment longer before I pushed open the door to exit Swan Automotive. I startled when Jacob leaped from his lawn chair and pinned me against the glass window, his huge hand wrapping tightly around my throat. Yes, I had shamelessly flirted with his ex, with whom he seemed to be scarily obsessed, right in front of his face and had called him various inappropriate names, but I didn't think I deserved to die for those crimes. The dickhead loomed over me, and since I happened to be on the lean side, I was definitely no match for the burly jackass. I grabbed his hand with both of mine and tried to wrench it away, all to no avail.

"Do you have a problem with your hearing?" he snarled in my face as I started to make some choking sounds and began turning a dark shade of purple. "I told you to stay away from her."

I heard a door open and my beautiful Counter Girl came to my rescue. "Jacob! Let him go, now!" she shouted.

Jacob let go and I immediately slumped over, coughing my brains out and trying to catch my breath. Counter Girl's soft little hands touched my back and my shoulder. Damn Jacob and his murderous ways. I couldn't even enjoy her sweet little touches because I was near death. "Are you okay? Oh my god, are you okay?" she kept murmuring and touching me. I could not believe her hands were on me. Maybe I needed Jacob to kick my ass more often.

I coughed a few more times and cleared my throat roughly before I finally straightened. I looked down into her beautiful, worried eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay," I said to her, coughing again, my voice still a little hoarse.

"Do you want me to call the police?" she asked. I glanced at Jacob and he looked like he might jump me again at any second as he continued staring me down with hatred dripping from his eyes. I looked back at Bella and shook my head. I had enough problems without getting the cops involved.

She turned to Jacob. "You lay another finger on Edward and I'm calling the cops. Go inside. We have a lot to talk about."

My heart dropped into my Converse. I didn't want her anywhere near Jacob, and I sure as heck didn't want her inviting him in for a little conversation time. My eyes darted to the punk and he smiled all smug and triumphantly at me before opening the door. I really wanted to run him over with Waylon's truck since I had no chance of kicking his ass.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Bella asked, lightly touching my arm.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Are you okay? Has he ever done anything like this to you?" If he had, I'd have to sell the diner and hire some guys to kill the douche.

"No, never," she said, shaking her head. "He's never acted like this before. I don't know what got into him."

I decided to keep the fact that I might have slightly antagonized the bastard to myself.

"Will you be okay with him or do you want me to stay?" I asked.

She looked through the window to where Jacob stood and nervously tucked her hair behind her ears. "No, I'll be alright."

I studied her lovely face for a moment. She had the cutest little freckles splashed across her nose and cheeks. I wanted to kiss them. "Can I come back and check on you later?" I asked quietly, my eyes darting to Jacob, hoping the bag of wind couldn't read lips.

Her beautiful mouth turned up, and I swear I felt a tingling sensation spread throughout my body. Or it might have been my blood starting to circulate again after that choke hold dickhead had just put me in. "Sure, I get off at six."

I grinned back at her and felt like skipping to Waylon's truck. "See you soon," I whispered.

I climbed into Waylon's ride and took my time turning on the ignition so I could watch to make sure she was okay. I enjoyed the way her hands flew every which way while she talked. She seemed to be ripping Jacob a new one. I backed up and said a silent prayer for her safety, keeping my eyes on her until the very last second.

I took a whiff of Waylon's truck and remembered the air fresheners. I was happy that I hadn't needed that as an excuse. I held my breath, deciding not to hang my head out the window this time. It would have taken too much effort with my sore neck and all.

When I got to the diner, I had to fight for a parking space. Apparently, the lunch crowd had moved in. I had just turned off the ignition when my phone rang. I smiled when I recognized the ring tone and quickly cleared my still scratchy throat.

"It's about time you called me, Lips," I answered with a grin.

"Shut it, Night Crawler," Leah responded affectionately. Leah was my best friend from Seattle. We met at work and hit it off immediately. I had always heard the saying that men and women can't be friends, but when one of them is gay and prefers to be treated like a guy, then that rule no longer applies.

My nickname for her had dual meanings. She had lips and she liked lips. Her nickname for me – well for my cock, that is – was not appreciated. And no, she'd never seen him or even gotten close to him for that matter so her stupid name was way off the mark.

I grinned. "I've been in Forks for how many days and you couldn't be bothered to check up on me?"

"I met someone," she said dramatically.

I chuckled. "You're always meeting a new 'someone'."

"I know but she's different. We're going out this weekend. So how is Forks? And how is the tiny diner owner holding up?"

"Well, I got caned on the calf this morning and choked by a linebacker about five minutes ago and I also happened to 'met someone'."

"What? You met someone?" she shouted. "Who? What's her name? Wait, how did you get caned?"

I grinned, knowing exactly how to get her goat. "Well, right now I have to go unplug a toilet so I'll have to call you back. Later, Lips."

"_No…"_ she shouted and I grinned as I hung up on her.

I silenced my phone, knowing she'd blow it up. I'd call her later of course, but I loved messing with her.

I stepped into the diner and said hello to a few people before Tanya pulled me to the side. "Um, here's the key. I locked it so no one could go in there."

With a heavy sigh, I took it from her. I felt like I was accepting the key to the gates of hell. I let my Converse drag noisily across the black and white tiles as I slowly approached the door to the men's bathroom. I closed my eyes and took in a couple of deep, cleansing breaths before I finally inserted the key. I held my breath and slowly pushed open the door. One look and my eyes widened in terror before I let the door slam shut. I mumbled a couple of curses as I leaned heavily against it. I wouldn't have gone in there for ten million dollars.

I re-locked the door and walked the few steps back into the dining area to where Tanya stood behind the counter. "I can't go in there," I said to her in a low voice, looking around to make sure no one could hear us. "I don't know what to do. Do you know anybody I could call?"

"Yeah, call Emmett McCarty. He's the handyman around town," she said as she pulled out her phone and gave me his number.

"Thank you." I wanted to give Tanya a hug or at least maybe a raise.

I stepped through the swinging door to the kitchen and found Alice by herself. Guess old Jasper went home. I left her alone and made my way to my office and quickly dialed Emmett's number.

"Yeah, this is Emmett," a loud, boisterous voice answered.

"Um, this is Edward Cullen, I-"

"Oh yeah, you're the guy that took over the diner. How's it going?"

I smiled and shook my head. "Well, it was going okay until today. The men's toilet is backed up."

"Oh yeah, Maggie's always had problems with that shitter. I tried to get her to let me replace it, but she was hard-up on money. Want me to come over? I'll probably have to run a snake through it and maybe check the septic vent."

"Yeah, when can you get here?"

"I can be there in five."

My mouth dropped open and it took me a second to recover. "Uh, that's awesome," I finally said with a relieved chuckle. Small towns kicked ass.

We said our goodbyes and hung up. I looked up and saw a man with sandy blonde hair standing in the doorway. "Hi, I'm Mike Newton," he announced.

Ah, the manager that I needed to fire. I stood and shook his hand. "Edward Cullen. Nice to meet you," I said with a nod.

"Sorry I couldn't be here sooner. My family owns the sporting goods store in town and I had to go out of town on business for it."

"Oh," I said, my eyes narrowing slightly as I wondered if he'd been collecting a check even though he hadn't been here.

"Maggie was a really good friend of my parents, and I've only been covering until someone else could take over," he told me. "I don't want to have to juggle two jobs at the same time."

"_Oh… _okay," I said smiling this time.

Mike had just started showing me around the tiny office when Tanya poked her head in, telling me that Emmett had arrived. I handed her the key and asked her if she could take care of it. Mike then introduced me to the books, how to do the payroll, and showed me the suppliers I needed to order from. He also gave me the key and combination to the safe.

I felt relieved because he seemed like a nice guy and I didn't want to have to fire him. Apparently, I had misjudged the dude. He showed me the payroll and what was owed to him. I threw in an extra two weeks as a thank you.

We said our goodbyes and I made sure to send him off with a couple of pies. When I stepped back into the dining room, I hoped Emmett had the toilet situation under control. But I stopped dead in my tracks and just stared with my mouth gaped open at the enormous guy sitting at the counter. He wore a white thermal undershirt with the sleeves rolled up outlining enormous, Herculean muscles and had a white paper napkin tucked into the top of his shirt. About ten different plates sat in front of him and with his wide blue eyes, giant grin, and the way he held his knife and fork up in the air, he could have easily passed for a muscled-up Jethro Bodine.

"Edward, right?" he asked with a wide, toothy grin, pointing his fork at me.

"Emmett?" I asked tentatively.

"You bet your fucking dollar," he half-shouted, standing and dropping his fork before offering his hand. I hesitated, hoping he had disinfected that thing. I swallowed hard, forced a smile, and shook it.

"Got your shitter unclogged," he said way too loudly before having the good grace to look around. "Oh, I'm sorry, ma'am," he said politely to a woman sitting in a booth behind him.

He sat back down with a slap-on-the-wrist look on his face. He motioned with his finger and I leaned toward him. "Sorry about that," he said in a low voice. "Got your toilet fixed. Sometime you're going to need to replace it and maybe even have someone take a look at your septic system because it's just going to continue backing up."

I nodded. "Once I get a look at the finances, I'll let you know when we can do it."

"Awesome. I'll cut you a good deal on it. Where are you from, Seattle?" he asked before taking a huge bite of mashed potatoes.

"Yeah, sure am."

He nodded as he chewed and quickly swallowed. "That's cool. I also own the bar in town; the _only _bar in town. You'll have to come check it out. It's McCarty's over on Franklin."

I smiled. "I definitely will. I'm sure I'm going to have days when I need a stiff drink."

"Hell yeah," he said grabbing his Coke and holding it up with a big grin.

The door opened and I smiled when I saw Waylon mosey up to the counter and sit down beside Emmett. "How's it going?" I asked him as we shook hands.

His nose did that weird rabbit twitch again. I tried hard to keep my eyes focused on his, but I could not stop zoning in on that nose. "It's going real good," he said with a grin and a twitch. "Any word on your starter yet?"

Before I could even open my mouth, Emmett butted in. "Starter? What's wrong with your starter? Is Garrett going to put it in for you?"

"No," Waylon interjected. "I told him I'd do it to save the boy some money."

"Who's Garrett?" I asked Emmett.

"He's the mechanic over at Swan's."

"There's a garage?" I asked confused.

"Yeah, it's in the back. You can only access it through the alley."

Guess I'd been too distracted by Counter Girl to even notice. Emmett and Waylon talked, a lot, but I was impressed at how expertly Emmett managed to hoover every morsel from the many plates that were set before him all the while juggling a conversation. Even though he was big and loud and talked too much, I really did like the guy and knew I'd just made a new friend. He told me his charge for the work on the toilet and I quickly wrote him out a check.

Jessica came in at two o'clock to take over for Tanya, and she did much better with the flirting. I could still feel her overly mascaraed eyes boring into me, but I decided I could live with the staring – as long as it stayed at that. I'd just have to keep a close eye on her. The afternoon flew by and when I looked down at my watch, I could not believe it was five forty-five.

I pulled Jessica into the kitchen. "Hey, I need to leave a little early today. Can you lock up tonight?"

She nodded and apparently had replaced her gum with Tic-Tacs. She had several of them in her mouth and her bright orange tongue kept doing weird flipping things with them. "Sure, I do it all the time."

"Good. Are you scheduled to work in the morning?"

"Yeah," she said.

"Okay, I'll see you in the morning then."

I waited until she had exited the kitchen before I made my way over to Alice. I started to grab a french fry but got smacked on the back of the hand with a wooden spoon. "Ouch," I mumbled, grabbing my hand. "I hope this place carries Worker's Comp because with you around, I'm definitely going to have to file a claim at some point."

She snorted but kept her eyes on her work station. I grinned back at her even though she couldn't see me. I made another go at it and finally managed to sneak one. I quickly popped it into my mouth.

"Ho…ho…hot," I muttered, waving my hand in front of my mouth and tossing the scalding fry around with my tongue.

"Singed the roof of your mouth, didn't you?" Alice asked. "That's what you get, Runt."

I grabbed a glass of water and cooled my tongue while Alice chuckled.

"Hey, I'm leaving a little early today, which you probably just heard, and I wanted to see if you would please be kind enough to make me two orders of your mouth-watering beef stroganoff to go."

She cocked an inquisitive eyebrow at me and I just smiled back at her. "Yes, two," I responded. "I'm a growing boy, what can I say?"

She grunted before quickly making my order and handing it to me. "Thank you, Alice Brandon, the best cook on the western seaboard. I look forward to seeing your lovely face in the morning."

She cracked a smile and tried to smack me with her wooden spoon again. I laughed and dodged it before exiting the kitchen.

I had a bounce in my step as I made my way to Waylon's truck. I could not wait to go check up on my Counter Girl. Hopefully her douchebag cheater ex was gone and I could spend some quality alone time with her.

And maybe finagle my way into her heart with more of Alice's fantastic food.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews. Your words make me smile. ;))**

**I have so much love for my pre-readers: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. Thank you all for putting up with me. ;) And I absolutely adore my beta Halo221.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 5**_

I said goodbye to everyone at the diner and hopped into Waylon's truck. Of course it started raining so I had to quickly roll up the windows. Frowning and mumbling a few curses, I held my breath as I fiddled with the buttons on the dashboard and finally got the air conditioner to turn on. I hoped to bring in some clean air from the outside into the stink tank, but when I took a whiff, I almost gagged. It smelled like something had curled up and died in one of the vents. I finally just gave up and rolled the windows back down not caring if I got drenched.

My heart did its usual gymnastics routine the closer I got to the automotive store. When I saw that dickhead and his lawn chair were absent, I felt giddier than a schoolboy.

I pulled into a front row spot and smiled when I caught sight of my Counter Girl talking on her cell phone. Grabbing our food, I rolled the windows up and jogged the few steps to the door. I stepped inside and was shaking the water off when she glanced up, giving me a small smile and a wave. I grinned back at her, delighted in her happy response to seeing me.

Walking to the counter, I set the food down and tried not to eavesdrop. Okay, I'm lying my ass off. My ears perked up straighter than a German shepherd's, and I think I might have even been able to pick up a conversation over at the diner. I wanted to know every single thing about her.

"But you said you'd be back by now," she said, obviously agitated. Her lips thinned and her eyes narrowed before her small hand laying on the counter tightened into a fist. "What am I supposed to do? Garrett's already left."

"_Call Jacob,"_ I heard a female voice respond on the other end of the line. _"You know he'll come running like a little puppy dog with his tongue hanging out and his little tail wagging."_

My shoulders stiffened. Counter Girl would _not_ be calling that douchebag any time soon if I had any say so in the matter.

"I can't deal with you right now. We'll talk about this later," Bella said before hanging up. She dropped her phone on the counter and sat down, staring at it with a pensive expression on her face. I wanted to wrap my arms around her slender shoulders and kiss her worries away.

I watched her for a few more moments. "Is everything okay?" I finally asked in a soft voice.

She sighed heavily and looked up, a somber look in her dark eyes. "Yeah, sorry about that," she said. She took in another deep breath and looked back down at the counter. I frowned, wondering what I could do to make her smile again.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked gently, wishing I could touch her, pull her into my arms.

She looked up and intently studied my face. The way she stared at me made my heart start pounding. Counter Girl had turned me into a complete pussy with just one look. "No," she said in a quiet voice, sighing softly. "Sometimes life's just complicated, you know?"

Boy, did I ever know.

"I understand completely," I said. Then, trying to lighten the mood, I asked, "Are you hungry? I brought food. That always helps."

She smiled but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'd love some, but I really need to get home. Is there any way you could give me a ride?"

"Sure," I said with an enthusiastic nod, thrilled to get to spend some more time with her. But then I remembered the stench factory I was driving and my eyes widened. "Wait! No, I can't."

She frowned and stared at me like I'd lost my mind.

"I mean, I _can_ but Waylon's truck…" I said, turning around and staring at the monstrosity for a second before looking back at her, slightly defeated. "His truck smells like shit. I think something died in it."

She busted out giggling, and I grinned at her. She grabbed her coat and slipped it on before picking up her bag and tossing it over her shoulder. "I don't mind."

She was not getting it.

"No, I mean it's _really_ bad. Do you have any air fresheners?"

"Sure do. Right over there," she said, pointing to a display. I grabbed ten tree-shaped fresheners, clearing out her inventory and set them down on the counter.

"Oh, I already closed the register. Those can just be on the house."

I ignored her and pulled out my wallet. I handed her more than enough cash to cover the purchase, but I made sure to keep my wallet angled so she couldn't see that I only had a dollar left.

"Thanks, but you didn't need to do that," she said with a smile, tucking the money under the counter.

"Yes, I did."

She bagged the trees for me, and I grabbed the bag of food off the counter. We walked to the door and I pulled my hoodie up as I waited for her under the awning while she locked up. A huge gust of wind blew past, blowing a bunch of wet leaves up against the building. "What's that?" she asked, pointing towards the ground.

I barked out a laugh because I couldn't believe it. "That's my hat. I lost it earlier," I said as I picked it up. It had some dirt caked on it and was a little damp but I didn't care because that hat had sentimental meaning to it. Maybe I could wash it or something.

She smiled. "That's my favorite team. Are you into baseball?"

My Counter Girl liked baseball? My heart tumbled in my chest, making my breathing difficult. Clearly a pacemaker would be in my immediate future.

I quickly cleared my throat. "Um, yeah, you could say that," I mumbled not wanting to get into it all right then.

She smiled and pulled the hood up on her coat. I smiled back before we made our way to the passenger side of Waylon's truck. "Brace yourself…" I mumbled before opening the door for her.

"Oh my god that stinks," she said immediately, grabbing her nose and looking up at me with wide eyes.

I chuckled. "I told you so."

"I think you're right about there being something dead in there. Have you checked under the seats?"

"Uh, no," I said. "You think I should look?"

"It's probably the only way to get rid of the smell."

I have to admit I was terrified to look under Waylon's seats because I had no idea what I would find, but no way would I let Bella know that. I needed her to see me as a big, strong man or at least not as wussy as her run-in with her ex made me seem. "All right," I said. Taking in a deep breath and holding it, I reached inside the truck and set the food, hat, and trees in the center of the seat. I then took my own advice and braced myself before ducking down and taking a look underneath. I squinted, ducking a little lower and that's when I saw it. I shouted and immediately smacked my head on the door frame as I quickly backed out of the truck.

"What?" Bella asked in a startled voice. "Are you okay?"

I grimaced as I began rubbing my aching head. "Yeah…"

"Did you see something?"

"There's a fish skeleton under there." I didn't tell her about the head and the eyeball that stared back at me.

She threw her head back and laughed. "That's disgusting," she said, smiling and still laughing.

"Has Waylon lost his sense of smell because how in the world could he not smell that?"

Counter Girl laughed loudly, her sweet sounds wrapping around me like a hug. Yep, my Night Crawler had shriveled up and died, paving the way for the growth of my new vagina.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again still laughing a little. I loved the concern she showed me.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Let's go back inside and figure out a way to get rid of that fish," she said with a grin, her lovely face glowing from laughing so much.

After a quick scavenger hunt in the store, she found me a mask, a pair of gloves, and a bag. Back outside and with my mask securely in place, I grabbed the nasty thing and shoved it into the bag before disposing everything in the trash can. I had to swallow down a gag or two while Bella giggled adorably at me from the side lines. It felt fantastic to hear her laughter even if it was at my expense.

"It's probably still going to smell since it's embedded in the carpet, but hopefully it won't be as bad," I said as I watched her struggle to climb into the truck. My eyes did a number on her sweet little ass. I couldn't help myself. After closing her door, I told my cock to sit down and quickly ran around to the other side of the truck and hopped in.

I laughed when I looked at her. She was holding her nose again. I took a whiff and almost gagged. "Guess it's tree time, huh?" I asked. She nodded and we both laughed as we began furiously tearing open the packages as fast as we could and started hanging the various colored trees all over the interior of the truck. We laid a couple on the fish spot, hung them off the visors and mirror, crammed them under and in between the seats, tossed them on the dashboard, and even hung some off the gear shift. We laughed the entire time.

Once all of the trees had been planted, I hesitantly took a small sniff and cringed. It smelled like a tractor trailer carrying a load of perfume had crashed into a rotten fish market. "I guess that's a little better, huh?" I asked.

Bella smiled and shook her head "no" before plugging her nose again.

I let out a loud cackle and rolled the windows down part-way. "You're right, it's worse. When is my starter going to get here?"

"You should have told me you were suffering and I would have had them FedEx it."

"Damn it, why didn't I think of that?" I asked, grinning at her.

She laughed before grabbing her nose again. She looked so damn cute. I kept my eyes on hers as I started the truck. "So where's home?" I asked.

"Go past the diner and turn right at the next light."

I nodded and backed out of the parking space. "So what happened with Jacob?" I asked, wishing I'd been a fly on the wall so I could have listened in on that conversation.

She dropped her hand from her nose and sighed. "The usual. I'm so sorry for what he did to you."

"You have nothing to apologize for. That was all him."

"I know but he attacked you because of me."

"He attacked me because he's a jackass," I said, stealing a glance at her. She smiled and I smiled back before I looked at the road again. "So are you going to let him continue to sit outside the store?"

"No. I told him that if he shows up tomorrow, I'll call the cops. I got my revenge but now it just doesn't feel right."

I wanted to kiss her on the lips for her level-headed decision-making.

"That's good because his behavior was bordering on the psychotic," I said, although I would have joined the douche in a heartbeat, but she didn't need to know that.

When I turned at the light, she spoke up again. "It's just a couple more blocks."

I smiled and nodded in acknowledgement as I drove in silence. I really wanted to know what else she and that dickhead talked about, but I didn't know how to ask without sounding like a prick.

"Turn left at the stop sign," she said. "It's the last house on the right."

I pulled up in front of a small, modest two-story home with a wheelchair ramp out front. I turned the truck off because I didn't want to leave just yet.

I stared straight ahead, trying to think of a way to get her to invite me in when Bella spoke up. "I think I know what's going on here," she said in a quiet voice.

I turned towards her, resting my arm on the back of the seat. "What do you mean?" I asked innocently unable to keep the roguish smile off my face.

She bit back a grin and cocked a cute eyebrow at me. "You know what I mean."

I furrowed my brows contemplatively. "If you're talking about me trying to win your heart, then I have no clue what you're talking about."

She laughed and shook her head. I grinned back at her and watched as her face grew serious. "I'm not someone you want to fall for, Edward." Hearing her say my name did something to me, did something to my heart. I could feel it to my very core.

I swallowed hard, my eyes never leaving hers. "You're exactly the kind of girl I want to fall for, Bella."

Her little brows furrowed as she shook her head. "No, I'm not. You don't even know me."

"I know enough. You're gorgeous, witty, and incredibly sweet. And you're generous… you did share your pie with me," I said with a crooked grin. "And every time I see you, I smile."

She sighed softly. "I come with baggage."

"Well," I said, holding my arms out and looking down at them, "I may not look like it, but I happen to have some pretty strong arms. They can help carry any and all of your bags any time you need it."

She smiled. "Are you always this irresistible?"

I tossed her a sly grin. "Not until I met you."

She stared at me for a long moment. "Jacob won't let this happen, at least not right now."

"I don't give a shit about Jacob. Besides, he can't dictate what we do."

"I know but he can cause problems."

"He doesn't matter, Bella. It's up to you and me if we want to pursue this. If you tell me that _you_ don't want me, that's different, but don't tell me what Jacob wants."

"I just… it's just that I have some really difficult things going on right now. You are such a sweet guy, Edward, and if things were different, I'd…" she said, trailing off. Her lips turned upwards just a fraction, a melancholy touch to them. She stared at me for a heartbeat longer before she reached for the handle to open the door. "I'm sorry but I have to go."

"Wait," I said, touching her arm. She looked down at my hand for a moment before her eyes met mine.

"That wasn't a no, Counter Girl, so don't think I'll be giving up on you so easily. I don't know what went down with you and Jacob, but I know that he hurt you and I want to kill him for that. But I won't give up pursuing you unless you tell me you're not interested. 'Cause the thing is, I really want to get to know you better, like find out everything about you. And I hope maybe, even with whatever baggage you have, I hope you'll want to get to know me too."

Taking in a deep breath after basically putting myself totally on the line, I picked up the bag of food and handed it to her. She didn't move a muscle; she just stared at me with her mouth gaped slightly open. "And here's some supper. Do you like beef stroganoff?" I asked with an expectant grin.

Her brows furrowed as she continued staring at me. She finally snapped out of it and shook her head before taking the bag from me. "Yeah, thanks," she said, her mouth twisting into a beautiful Mona Lisa smile.

"You're welcome. And now I know one more thing about you: you like beef stroganoff."

She laughed, her smile growing.

"Oh, and I love beef stroganoff. I pretty much like everything with beef in it. I'm an all-American kind of guy."

"That's good to know."

"Exactly. Now let me get the door for you," I said before hopping out of the truck and opening it for her. Thankfully, the rain had stopped. She smiled bashful-like and thanked me.

I walked beside her up to her door and waited while she unlocked it. "Are you working tomorrow?" I asked, shoving my hands into my jeans.

"Yeah…" she said her brows furrowing slightly in curiosity. She still hadn't said no…

"Good. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a lovely evening, Bella."

She laughed. "You're going to be a lot of trouble for me, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am. Hopefully the best trouble you've ever had."

She laughed and I smiled broadly, giving her a salute before turning around and hustling back to Waylon's truck. I climbed in and looked up, catching her standing in the doorway. I waved and she waved back before she disappeared inside the house.

As I pulled away, I decided I needed to find out exactly what her "baggage" consisted of so I could prove to her that I could handle the load.

And I also needed to come up with some new ways to help mend my lovely Counter Girl's wounded heart. It was going to take a lot more than Alice's good cooking.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who is reading this little story. ;))**

**I love my pre-readers: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. You guys are awesome! ;) And my beta Halo221 is the prettiest beta in the world.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 6**_

Before heading home, I stopped back by the diner and picked up the books. I needed to know where the cash situation stood since the cash situation in my wallet was pretty dire. I pulled out my phone and laughed at the texts and missed calls from Lips. I took it off mute and tucked it back into my pocket, planning to call her as soon as I got home.

I turned down my street and frowned, straightening in my seat as I squinted through the windshield. Waylon was standing in his front yard next to an honest-to-god ten-foot-tall rusty old windmill. What the heck did he need a windmill for?

I pulled up in front of his house and just stared. I hadn't noticed it before but he had a collection of oddities going on. I saw a bizarre wooden wind chime the size of a steering wheel hanging from a tree. He also had a large collection of about twenty or so various-sized frogs where a flower bed should have been. One of the frogs even wore a bow-tie. But what got me were the bowling balls. He had two bowling balls mixed in with the frogs. What was this man thinking?

"Hey, Edward, how ya doing?" he asked through the passenger side window, grinning like a happy Jack-O-Lantern.

"Good. Is that a windmill?" I asked rhetorically as I nodded towards it.

"Sure is. What do ya think of it?" he asked and for once I didn't notice his rabbit twitch because I was too hung up on the weird windmill in his yard.

"It's very… interesting."

He nodded. "I got it at the salvage yard. I dickered with 'em and ended up gettin' it for free. I think it's got character; reminds me of days gone by."

I had no idea how to respond to that so I just nodded. "What's up with the bowling balls?"

"Oh, I've bowled on leagues for probably forty years or so," he said before the twin twitch appeared. "Those are my retired balls. I wanted to give them a nice resting place."

I had to cover my mouth and cough to keep back my laughter because hearing him say "retired balls" just about killed me. If there ever came a time when my balls needed to be retired, my request would be to just bury me with them.

"Do you bowl?" he asked.

I quickly cleared the laughter from my throat. "No, I don't."

"You should come with me some time. We can have some beer and I'll teach you some of my tricks."

"Count me in," I said. "You won't ever see me passing up an opportunity for some beer."

He chuckled and twitched, and I have to say my heart went out to old Waylon. I could feel the loneliness radiating from him. "How about tomorrow night?" he asked with a hopeful glint in his eyes. "I bowl over in Portland."

"Sure, as long as you let me buy the beers."

"They cut me a deal and give me the beers half-price."

"Well, that's good to hear because that means we get to drink twice as much, right?"

"You betcha," he said grinning and doing the rabbit. But then his eyes darted around the truck and he frowned. "Why d'ya have air fresheners everywhere?"

"Did you know you had a dead fish under your seat?"

"What? A dead fish?"

"Yes, a dead fish. Didn't you ever notice the smell?"

"Hmm… can't say I have," he said sniffing and twitching simultaneously. "This is my fishin' truck, though. One of 'em must've jumped outta my bucket at some point."

The guy had clearly lost his sense of smell.

"That can be a great story for your fishing buddies; the one that got away," I said with a laugh.

He chuckle-twitched and we talked a few more minutes about the weather before I told him goodbye.

I had just set my stuff down on the kitchen table when my phone rang. I grinned and answered it. "Am I going to have to block your ass to keep you from bugging me?" I said.

"You are the lowest form of bastard," Leah said with a heavy dose of loathing. "How could you do this to me?"

I chuckled. "It's payback for that skank you set me up with… the one that had that foot thing going on." I shivered a little when I got hit with a flash of her trying to touch my dick under the table with her gnarly toes.

"But she seemed so sweet. How could I have known she had a foot-on-dick fetish?"

"You should have given her a questionnaire or something to fill out."

She laughed and I chuckled along with her. "So tell me about _her,_" she said with way too much enthusiasm.

Sighing, I sat down and propped my feet up on the table. "She's incredible, Lips. She's not like anybody I've ever met before. She's beautiful and you should have seen what she did to make her cheater ex-boyfriend suffer," I said before telling her about catching Bella in that skimpy outfit traipsing in front of the counter. I also told her about douchebag Jacob, how we shared a piece of pie, and how Jacob tried to kill me.

"This is exactly why you should have taken that kickboxing class with me, you lazy ass," she said.

"Yeah, yeah," I said, smiling before I told her about taking Bella home and the conversation we had.

"So do you think her only 'baggage' is the douchey stalker perp? I mean, not that he isn't a lot of baggage. From your description of him, he has to be 6'5" and 250 pounds."

"I don't know. I haven't figured her out yet."

"Well, as long as she doesn't have a husband and five kids hidden somewhere, I think you'll be okay."

I let out a loud chuckle.

"Just turn on the Cullen charm and she'll be slipping her panties off before you know it."

My cock definitely wanted in her panties, but I think I wanted in her heart more than anything. Good thing I didn't say that out loud or Lips would have never let me live that down.

"Have you told her about what happened in Seattle? And I know you just met her and all, but it's something she needs to know."

"Of course I haven't told her yet. I'll tell her at some point, but I did nothing wrong."

I figured once I explained everything to Bella, she'd understand. I just didn't know how to broach the subject.

"I know you did nothing wrong, but just be careful. You went through a lot."

We talked for another half hour or so. I told her about Waylon and everyone I had met at the diner, and she told me all about the new chick she'd just met. After we hung up, I nuked myself a burrito and started going over the books.

After an hour, I finally shoved the books to the side and rubbed my eyes. The numbers were off and I could not figure out why. I decided to go over everything again in the morning. Thankfully, the diner was making a profit so I'd at least be able to pay my bills.

I went to bed and dreamed that Waylon and I went bowling in his front yard both of us buck naked except for the matching furry Daniel Boone hats on our heads. We used his retired balls to bowl with and the frogs were the pins. Bella drove by in Waylon's truck and hurled a fish at me, hitting me square on my naked ass. The second I woke up, I threw out every burrito in the house. I needed to go the grocery and get some healthy, non-nightmare inducing food.

After a quick shower, I got dressed and headed outside to Waylon's truck. Since I had to roll the windows up because of the rain, the smells had concentrated in the cab to the point that it made my eyes water. I opened both doors to let the noxious fumes out and went back into the house looking for something to cover my nose with. I found a red bandana and wrapped it around my face. I looked like a train robber from an old silent movie.

When I drove by the deserted automotive store and my heart took a leap, I wondered what time I should visit Bella. I wanted to show up early to see if she needed any help with the douche, but I also didn't want to look too overly eager. I finally decided noon would probably work best.

I pulled into a parking space at the diner and removed the bandana. I had to roll the windows up again because it had started raining.

I grinned and my stomach grumbled when I stepped inside. The "regular" guys were already bellied up to the counter, and Jessica was pouring them coffee. I greeted everyone and talked for a few minutes before I stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Jasper," I said with a smile as I made my way over to him.

"Good morning," he responded in a cheerful voice, looking up at me through his dark-rimmed glasses. "What's your name again?"

"It's Edward. Hey, I need to go grab something. I'll be right back," I said before slipping into my office. I took a selfie with my phone and got the printer working and printed it. I then wrote "Edward Cullen aka Runt" on it with a Sharpie. I dug around in the desk and found some tape.

"Maybe this will help," I said as I stepped back into the kitchen and held up my photo ID for Jasper.

He grinned. "Sorry about that," he said. "I have a hard time with names for some reason. I can remember faces but I can't put a name with them. Guess I'm getting old," he said with a chuckle and a shake of his head.

"Old?" I asked as I taped my mug on one of the cabinets. "You're a stud, Jasper. The word 'old' should not even be in your vocabulary."

"Thank you, son," he said with a big smile.

"You're welcome. Now what's for breakfast because it smells delicious in here."

"How about some chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Are you serious?" I asked with a grin. "Where's my plate?"

Jasper piled three enormous pancakes on a plate and handed it to me. I thanked him and headed back out to the dining area and sat down at the counter next to an old guy named Aro. Jessica came over and poured me a cup of coffee.

"So what's going on with you and Bella?" she asked.

I had just taken a big bite of my pancakes. I choked and started strangling on a chocolate chip. "What?" I finally asked, clearing my throat roughly.

"I heard you guys have been hanging out."

My eyes narrowed. "Have you been following me or something?" I asked. I tried to recall if I had seen her at any point, but I'd been so focused on Bella that I hadn't been paying attention to much else.

"No, of course not," she said. "My mom drove by Swan's yesterday and told me she saw you two leaving together."

I studied her face carefully and couldn't detect any deception, but I still didn't trust her. "Well," I said, grabbing my napkin and wiping my mouth, "you need to tell your mother to mind her own business."

She huffed and did an annoying eye roll before stomping off. I ignored her and dug into my pancakes.

"Bella?" Aro spoke up from beside me. He was one of the old timers that came to the diner each day. "She's a sweet little gal. Feel sorry for her, though."

Frowning, I turned towards him. "Why?" I asked.

"It's that dad of hers."

"Oh yeah," Ben said, chiming in. He was another one of the old timers sitting on the other side of Aro. "Charlie is one big, giant pain in the ass."

"You can say that again," Aro said. "I went to visit him the other day and he told me to 'F' off. He wouldn't even let me inside the house and we used to be good friends."

I frowned as I recalled the wheelchair ramp outside her house. "What's wrong with him? Is he sick or something?"

"Yeah, he had a stroke a while back," Aro said. "He's confined to a wheelchair and takes it out on everyone, especially that sweet little girl of his. I don't know how she puts up with him. She needs to just put him in a home and be done with it."

"That's exactly what she should do," Ben agreed with a nod.

"And she's trying her hardest to keep Swan's going for Charlie," Aro said. "Not that he cares any. I think she should just go ahead and sell the place. I bet Billy would buy it."

"Oh yeah," Ben added, "that would be a drop in the bucket for Billy."

"Who's Billy?" I asked.

"Billy Black. Jacob Black's dad," Ben answered. "The guy's loaded. Plus he and Charlie used to be really tight."

Damn that jackass and his rich daddy.

I hadn't even noticed it but Jessica was standing in front of me. "Edward?" she asked interrupting us. "I'm out of ones."

I nodded at her before turning to Ben and Aro. "Excuse me, guys," I said. "I'll be right back."

As I walked back to my office to get into the safe, I took in a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Guess Bella wasn't joking when she said she had a lot of baggage. I couldn't imagine having to take care of a sick parent like that especially when the parent was acting like an ungrateful ass.

I stepped back into the dining area and handed Jessica the bundle of ones eager to find out more about Bella, but I never got a chance to as one catastrophe after another happened. Jessica dropped a plate of food, splattering gravy on a customer. I had to "smooth talk" the lady with a promise of paying her dry cleaning bill. Then a three-year-old choked on a piece of sausage and I freaked out and thought I'd have to give the kid the Heimlich.

By the time Alice arrived, Aro and Ben were gone and I was a little worse for wear. I still opened the door for her and put on a happy face. "Good morning, Alice. My tongue hurts like hell today. I think I have a blister." Her lips fought a smile, but I could see the mirth in her gray eyes.

"Good," she grunted. "Remember that the next time you want to steal one of my fries, Runt."

I laughed and made sure to give her a lot of space. I didn't want another caning.

I went back to my office and worked some more on the books, but I still couldn't figure out the leak. I looked up and saw it was close to noon so I asked Alice to pack me up a couple of turkey clubs before I made my way over to Swan's. I frowned when I pulled into the parking lot and saw a couple of cars. At first I thought maybe douchebag was back, but felt relieved when I saw she just had some customers. I sat in the truck and waited until they left.

I hopped out of Waylon's truck with my bag of food in tow and pushed open the door, my pulse racing like crazy. She had her hair up in a ponytail, and her delicate ears stuck out a little, making me smile. She looked up and grinned before her eyes dropped to the bag in my hand. "More pie?" she asked, cocking her head to the side.

"No, I thought turkey clubs sounded good today," I said, setting the bag on the counter. "Have you had lunch yet?"

"No, I was just about to have a PB&amp;J."

"Oooh, close save."

She smiled and leaned against the counter, her arms crossed in front of her. "Thank you for the beef stroganoff. It was delicious."

"You're welcome."

I pulled out my to-go container and handed it to her, unable to stop smiling. I just felt happy being near her.

"Do you want a Coke?" she asked and I loved the way she smiled back at me.

"Sure."

She slipped through the door in the back and came out with two cans.

"Did you have to call the cops this morning?" I asked before opening the lid to my sandwich.

She sat down on her stool. "No, he didn't show up."

"Well, shit. I was hoping he was sitting in jail right now."

She giggled adorably. "Shame on you," she said with a sparkle in her eyes.

"Too much honesty?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Yes…"

"Sorry, but I really hate that douchebag."

She laughed again and shook her head. Picking up her sandwich, she was just about to take a bite when she stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot. I have some bad news about your starter. It's not going to get here until Monday."

"Are you trying to kill me?"

"No," she said with a cute little snicker. "I'm so sorry. They were wrong on the estimate they gave me."

"I'm going to have to buy a helmet in order to survive Waylon's truck."

She threw her head back and laughed, her ponytail bouncing.

"It's not funny," I said, smiling.

"I know," she said still laughing. "I'm sorry."

I wanted to tell her I'd forgive her if she gave me a kiss. But instead, I took a bite of my sandwich.

We ate quietly for a moment before I popped the top on my Coke.

"So, is this like a date or something?" she asked with a timid smile, her soft brown eyes studying me.

I tried to look offended. "Of course not. You needed to eat and I needed to eat. It's purely coincidental."

Her mouth twisted upwards as she cocked an unconvinced eyebrow at me.

"If you and I were on a date, you would know it. What are you doing tomorrow night?"

Her smile grew. "What do you mean?"

"What are you doing tomorrow night? And, no, I'm not asking you out on a date. I need a chaperone."

A little crease formed in her forehead.

"Waylon asked me out."

She busted out laughing.

"It's true. He wants to take me out for some beer and bowling. I'm thinking it's because I'm the new guy in town, I live across the street from him so I'm convenient, and you did say I'm 'irresistible'," I said, trying my best to give her my most charming smile.

She laughed so hard she snorted. I just grinned and watched her cheeks tinge a lovely rose color before she buried her face in her hands.

"You're not taking this seriously," I said, trying to keep a straight face but failing. I ended up chuckling with her. I loved hearing the little embarrassed giggles that kept escaping from her. "I need a chaperone to keep an eye on old Waylon. You should see how that old bird stares at me. I need someone around to make sure he keeps his hands off my ass."

She laughed so hard she had to wipe tears from her eyes. Nothing felt better than making her laugh.

She sighed and put her elbows on the counter, resting her chin on her hands as she stared at me with the sweetest smile on her lips. She looked so beautiful with her cheeks all pink and her eyes all shiny.

"I'd love to be your chaperone," she said with a soft exhale, "but I can't."

She wanted to go; I could see it in her eyes. It had to be because of her dad. I wondered if she had anyone to help her.

I frowned and, not wanting to assume, asked, "Why not?"

"I have to take care of my dad."

"He's sick, right?"

She nodded. "Who told you?"

"Aro and Ben."

Her brows furrowed as she nodded again.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I told you my life was complicated."

She wasn't kidding. "What if I changed my date with Waylon to Saturday?"

She shook her head, a sad little look in her eyes. It made my heart hurt.

"Sunday?"

I frowned when she shook her head again. She must be alone in this thing. I needed to find out more about her situation with Charlie. If she couldn't go out with me, I'd just have to bring the dates to her. Maybe I could get her to fall in love with me right here in this automotive store at this very counter.

"That's okay," I said. "I just need to warn you, though, that I might be off the market after my big date – in case you were interested."

She laughed lightly. "Waylon is a catch."

I waggled my eyebrows. "I know."

She smiled and we stared at each other for a moment before her eyes dropped bashfully. She nervously picked at her sandwich before taking a bite.

"So what do you want me to bring for lunch tomorrow?" I asked before picking up a potato chip. "And this will be a date."

She stared at me for a long moment, a soft smile playing on her lips. "A date?" she asked.

"Yes, a date. What would you like to eat for our first date?"

Her eyes danced her teeth biting softly on her lower lip. "Well… I do love Alice's mac and cheese."

I grinned. "Mac and cheese it is," I said. "And I think we need some more pie."

She nodded her mouth curving into a smile so pretty it made my heart stop for a second. "Definitely some more pie…"

On the way back to the diner with my nose buried in my bandana, I could not wipe the stupid grin off my face. Not only had my Counter Girl _not_ told me no, but that reply had seemed pretty close to a yes.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: ****I love my pre-readers: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. They rock! ;) And my beta Halo221 is the most amazing beta in the universe.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 7**_

I hadn't been on a date in like six months. Or was it closer to eight months? I couldn't remember and honestly I'd kind of sworn off women for a while after everything that went down in Seattle. But Bella had blown that plan to bits. Everything about her was different and to be honest, she was far too tempting to pass up. But I didn't want to just get Bella between the sheets. I mean, I did – _do_, actually – but I also wanted more. I knew it the moment I laid eyes on her. It was that intangible thing that you always hear people talking about when it comes to matters of the heart. That invisible pull towards another person, like she's what you've been missing your whole life. That mysterious something "more" that you feel and can't quite put it into words, yet you feel it deep inside nonetheless.

So that night after I closed the diner, I stopped off at the only grocery store in town and looked for some items for our date. Of course, they didn't have shit to choose from. I really needed to go to Port Angeles, but I didn't think I could make it in Waylon's truck without asphyxiating myself so I nixed that idea. I'd just have to make do. I bought some healthy food to replace my burritos and picked up a few things for our date.

When I got home, I dug around and found an old picnic basket and wiped the dust off of it. Then I worked on a playlist and smiled with satisfaction when I got it done. I unpacked some more boxes and finally found my dress clothes. If nothing else, I could at least look good for our date. It took me an half an hour to find my iron and I ended up singeing my finger on the stupid thing while I tried to get the wrinkles out of my pants.

I woke up the next morning and rubbed one out in the shower to images of Bella's lips wrapped around my cock. I came so hard my knees nearly buckled. I dug out some gel and tried to get my hair to lie down but it put up one heck of a fight. I huffed and mumbled a few curses before finally tossing the gel in the trash. I guess I'd just have to hope that the messy look worked for me.

Grabbing the goodies for our date, I headed out to the Fish Tank. Seriously, would that horrid smell _ever _go away? I tugged my bandana out of my pocket and crammed my face into it before I took off toward the diner.

As always, my eyes were drawn to the darkened automotive store and my heart sped up like a pansy. Just a few more hours and I'd be with her… I could hardly wait.

The diner was already humming with activity when I pulled into the parking lot. I grabbed a single, slightly wilted daisy from the bouquet I'd bought at the grocery before I made my way inside. Tanya was working so I said a quick hello to her. Her eyes met mine for a brief second as she mumbled a "hi" in response before she busied herself with filling coffee cups. I stopped and greeted everyone and talked to Aro and Ben for a while before I finally made my way to the kitchen.

"How's it going, Jasper?" I asked.

"It's going great…" he responded with a huge smile before glancing up at my picture then back at me, "Edward."

I grinned, thrilled to see the confidence shining in his eyes.

"I'm starving," I said, looking over his shoulder. "What's for breakfast?"

"French toast with walnuts?"

My mouth watered. "Bring it on," I said with a big smile and a growling stomach.

I took my heaping plate out to the dining area and sat next to Ben and Aro. They were in a huge discussion about football. No, they were in a huge _fight _about football. It was heated and they tried their best to include me but I stayed out of it.

I finished my breakfast and headed back to my office. It was Friday and I needed to do payroll. I also needed to work on the books again to see if I could figure out where the leak was. A couple of hours later, I pushed everything to the side, rubbing the back of my neck. Maggie kept terrible books. The accounting had been off for months, probably even years. From what I could tell, money had been leaking in small amounts: fifty dollars here and a hundred dollars there. Instead of trying to figure out where the money went, Maggie just adjusted the bottom line every month. When Mike took it over, he continued to follow Maggie's quirky way of accounting. It didn't add up. Someone was stealing from the diner.

Leaning back in my chair, I rubbed my eyes. My head hurt. I didn't want to think about this right now. I just wanted to focus on Bella.

I picked up the daisy off of my desk and made my way into the kitchen. "Good morning, Alice," I said with a grin. "I just wanted to let you know that all of your hard work around here is appreciated." I grabbed a glass, filled it with water, and set the daisy in front of her.

She stopped and stared at it for a long moment before her eyes met mine. She let out a grunt and went back to her cooking but I could see just the faintest of smiles on her lips. Mission accomplished.

"Would you please make me two orders of your mac and cheese and two slices of cherry pie to go?"

She let out a loud snort. "I may be old but I haven't lost my damn hearing yet. I do hear the gossip in this town whether I want to or not so don't think I don't know what you're up to."

I grinned. "Now, Alice, you know better than to listen to gossip."

"I never did like that Jacob character. Never knew why Bella took up with him. Something's not quite right with that boy. It's those shifty eyes of his."

I had to bite back a laugh. "Shifty eyes are the worst." I really wanted to interrogate her because I was desperate to find out more about Bella and what went down with her and creepy douche face, but I decided that I'd rather hear it from Bella herself. Besides, Alice might hit me with a skillet if I tried.

With my picnic basket in tow, I drove past Swan's to go home and change. A thrill shot through me when I saw that the douche nozzle wasn't around. Whatever she'd said to him must have worked. But I frowned when I saw she had a customer. I hadn't thought about the fact that we might get interrupted. Oh well, we'd just have to make due. I quickly changed into my black dress pants, dark green button-up oxford, and skinny black tie. I gave up on my whacked-out hair and just ran my fingers through it, hoping it would be good enough.

I felt relieved when I pulled into the empty parking lot. Grabbing my basket and with my heart buzzing in my chest, I opened the door and grinned when I saw her. I loved the way her face lit up at seeing me. I especially loved the way her eyes trailed slowly up and down my frame as I walked toward her, her little teeth biting softly into that luscious lower lip of hers, a glint of want flashing in her dark eyes. I wanted her to want me. I wanted her to want to rip my clothes off and claim me as her own.

"Hi," I said with a big ass grin as I set the picnic basket on the counter.

"Hi," she replied with a grin as big as mine.

We just stood there for a moment staring and grinning at each other. I could have stood there for hours.

"Oh, you can come back here," she said, waving her hand behind the counter. "I have an extra stool."

"Great," I said as I made my way around the counter. It made me feel special, like she was letting me into a little piece of her world. But then I stopped short and let out a low whistle. "Damn, Counter Girl, you look incredible," I said as I let my eyes take a nice, slow stroll over her curves. Her hair hung long and loose around her shoulders, practically shimmering and so soft-looking. She wore tight, dark jeans and a sky blue V-neck sweater that clung in all the right places. A silver necklace snuggled in her hint of exposed cleavage. I couldn't quite make out the charm on it and damn it if I didn't want to replace it with my tongue. I swallowed hard, desperate to know what her skin tasted like.

"Thank you," she said her lovely lips curved upwards. "You look pretty amazing yourself."

I shrugged out of my leather coat and tossed it on the counter. "Thanks. I wore this just for you. Do you think I'm hot?"

I grinned like an idiot as she giggled heartily. "I don't know. I can't believe you just asked me that," she said all cute and giggly and beautiful.

I waggled my eyebrows. "Waylon thinks I'm hot. But I'd rather have _you_ think I'm hot."

She just grinned and shook her head, but I knew she liked what she saw.

"So, I need a couple of minutes to set things up," I said, grabbing the picnic basket.

"Oh, okay. Do you want some help or…?"

"No, I've got it."

She nodded. "I can go in the back if you want."

"That'll work. I'll call you when I'm ready."

She grinned and kept her eyes on me until she disappeared into the back. I quickly started pulling stuff out of my basket. I covered the counter with a red and white checkered plastic tablecloth and pulled out some white ceramic plates that I had borrowed from the diner. Sure, it wasn't fancy Seattle restaurant quality, but I was pretty sure she'd appreciate the gesture. I quickly moved our mac and cheese and cherry pie to the plates and added white paper napkins and silverware alongside. I set two plastic wine glasses down then lit a couple of candles and placed a vase with the bouquet of wilted daisies I bought in the middle of it. I stepped back to take in the scene; not bad, I decided considering what I had to work with. It definitely had a picnic meets hole-in-the-wall Italian restaurant vibe. I could work with that.

"Okay, I'm ready," I announced.

She stepped back into view and grinned from ear to ear. "This is fantastic," she said as I pulled out her stool and offered her a seat. I grinned in satisfaction - and maybe a bit in relief - as I sat down next to her and pulled up the playlist on my phone and pressed play. Sinatra began playing softly in the background.

"Want some wine?" I asked.

"I'd love some."

"This happens to be a superb vintage of Oregon grape," I said as I grabbed the bottle of grape juice from the counter and held it up for her inspection like I was a wine connoisseur. She doubled over with laughter, laughing until she had little tears in the corners of her eyes. And I laughed right along with her.

"Sorry but I decided I'd rather drink grape juice than a shitty two dollar bottle of wine."

"Me, too," she said, dabbing at her eyes.

"Bet you've never had a date like this before, huh?" I said while I filled our glasses.

"Definitely not, this is a first."

"So is this one of _those_ moments… the kind that you'll remember for the rest of your life?"

She took a sip of her grape juice and stared at me over her glass with those fathomless dark eyes. That little playful grin that I was starting to fall in love with touched her lips as she nodded. "It certainly is."

"Good. I like that. I want to be memorable."

"You would be absolutely impossible to forget… Edward," she said, causing my heart to skitter and scat around in my chest. Hearing her say my name like that… God, I wanted to ravage her on that counter so badly I could hardly contain myself.

I cleared my throat and dug into my pasta, telling my nearly standing cock to sit his ass down. "So how long have you worked here at Swan Automotive?" I asked, needing to change the subject to keep myself from attacking her.

"Practically my whole life," she said, her eyes going to the door. My eyes went there too to make sure douche face wasn't sitting at the window watching us like a creeper.

I looked back at Bella. "Do you think he's going to show up?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so, or at least I hope not."

I nodded and took in a deep breath. "So you were saying you've worked here your whole life?" I prompted.

"Oh yeah, my dad opened this place before I was born. It was his baby. My parents divorced when I was small and my mom – well, I ended up with my dad and he really didn't know what to do with me. So I spent a lot of my childhood hanging out here. Then I worked here all through middle school and high school. I had just finished college and landed my dream job in Seattle when he had a stroke. So here I am again."

I stared deep into her eyes for a moment. "I'm so sorry," I said soft and gently. "How is your dad?"

Her eyes dropped to her plate. "Not good. It's been really tough but…" she shrugged and trailed off, leaving the rest unspoken.

It got quiet for a moment. I cleared my throat. "That had to be really hard on you, having to set your dreams aside to take care of him."

"Yeah…" she said with a deep sigh, "but isn't that what I'm supposed to do? I can't just desert him. He's my dad. It's my responsibility to take care of him. I mean, he took care of me even though it was really hard on him. I just... I have days where I feel like I have no clue what I'm doing."

I could hear the conflict in her voice. She was trying so hard to convince herself that she was doing the right thing. I didn't know how to respond and knew there was really no right or wrong answer. "Life throws us curve balls sometimes, huh?" I said, trying to lighten the heavy moment.

She sighed and nodded, a wisp of a smile curving her lips, but I could see the sadness in her eyes.

"So where did you go to college?" I asked.

"University of Chicago. Got my art degree and found a fantastic job as a graphic artist. Then Dad happened and they wouldn't let me take time off so rather than have them fire me, I quit."

I breathed a heavy sigh. Bella and I certainly had a lot more in common than I thought. I definitely knew what it felt like to have dreams dashed. "I'm really sorry, Bella." I said quietly. "You've been through so much."

"Yeah… but it's just another curve ball, right?"

I nodded and took a sip of juice and immediately cringed. "Wow, that's awful."

She laughed and nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty bad," she agreed.

I pulled my slice of cherry pie close and crammed a big bite into my mouth to try to get rid of the bad taste. I hummed and mumbled, "Much better." She just shook her head and grinned at me.

"So enough about me," she said, "tell me something about yourself."

I quickly wiped my mouth. "Well, we had similar childhoods, I guess, since we both grew up without our moms. My dad was a guitarist in a band and my mom was a groupie and an addict. He knocked her up and didn't even know about me until I was six months old and Child Protective Services contacted him. I guess she put his name on my birth certificate. She died a year later of an overdose."

"Oh my goodness. Edward, I'm so sorry."

"Don't be. I know this sounds harsh, but I didn't know her at all and my life with my dad was definitely better than my life with her would've been," I said with a shrug. "My dad did a pretty good job of leaving his rock star ways for a time, but it wasn't always easy. He was all about drugs, chicks, and rock and roll. Then suddenly he had this baby to deal with. He took a couple years off of touring but once I was old enough, he left me with my grandparents most of the time."

Her brows furrowed. "That had to be really tough," she said.

I shrugged. "Like I said, my life growing up was pretty good compared to what it could've been if I had been sent to a foster home or something. My Gram and Pops were great and Dad had more money once he was touring again so I got to do cool stuff, like go to camps and such. It wasn't all bad."

She nodded. "So, what did you do in Seattle?"

"Now if I recall, you mentioned that you like baseball. You don't happen to have a thing for baseball players, do you?"

A mischievous smile drifted across her lips. "Well, I do like the tight outfits. And I _did_ have a crush on Alex Rodriguez at one point."

I gasped all dramatic-like. "I think you're my dream girl," I said in my most serious voice, causing her to giggle. "But A-Rod? Seriously? He's a pussy."

She laughed lightly and shrugged.

"Well, my story is boring and completely stereotypical. Played in the minors as a pitcher and was about to get drafted to the majors when I blew out my shoulder. So I got a job coaching at a high school."

"Oh, wow. Guess you understand the 'curve ball' thing all too well."

I nodded. "More than you know."

"So why did you move here?" she asked. But before I could answer her brow furrowed. "Wait, is Forks just temporary? Are you moving back to Seattle?"

I liked how worried she seemed about the possibility of me leaving. I debated for half a breath about telling her what went down, but decided not to. That could wait for another day. "No, I don't have any plans to move back. When I found out that I'd inherited the diner, I decided to come here and give it a try and see what happens."

She stared at me for a moment. "I'm glad you did," she said in a soft voice, smiling. And there went my heart again, bouncing out of rhythm.

The song on my playlist changed and I grinned and stood, holding my hand out to her. "How about a dance, Counter Girl? I promise not to cop a feel," I said, wiggling my eyebrows at her, "at least not this time."

She laughed and stood and placed her hand in mine, and I swear I felt little sparked charges of electricity bolt up my arm.

"What am I going to do with you, Edward Cullen?" she asked coyly.

My cock started scribbling his list of perverted things she could do to him, but I thought it best to keep that list to myself. So I shrugged and pulled her towards me. I tucked our clasped hands between us as I pulled her body close, wrapping my arm around her tiny waist just as _At Last_ by Etta James began playing softly.

I stared down at her, studying her lovely face while my heart did weird zigs and zags in my chest. I could see tiny flecks of copper in those chestnut-colored eyes of hers. Her skin absolutely glowed, the little freckles on her dainty nose so cute. We moved slowly, our bodies so close but somehow not close enough. Her breath was heavy, mirroring my own and I stared at her little pink cupid lips that were parted slightly. I wanted to brush them with mine, bite, nibble… feel them pressed against my own. I wanted to taste them, suck them, taste her breath and feel her tongue slide against mine.

A war raged inside of me. Part of me – a _big _part - wanted to crush her to me and kiss those lips, press her soft little body against the counter, but I knew she was hesitant. She didn't want to start something right now and I needed to respect that. I didn't want to rush it, yet I _did_ want to rush it. But I finally decided I wouldn't push it. I'd let her take the lead and I'd follow whatever pace she wanted to set. I could wait. She'd be worth it.

I squeezed our clasped hands and pushed them a bit closer to my heart. "Bella, you're so beautiful," I whispered, staring down into her eyes. "I want to kiss you desperately right now, but I won't. I know your life is complicated. I won't complicate it more. But when you're ready? Feel free to attack me."

She busted out giggling all crazy-like.

"I'm serious," I said with a smirk. "I give you permission to go wild. I want lips, tongue, and hell, you can even tug on my hair if you're so inclined. I want it all."

She smiled and studied me with those pretty eyes before taking in a deep breath. "Why have I never met anyone like you before?" she asked on an exhale.

I opened my mouth to answer but before I could get a word out, a loud _ding_ interrupted us. I swiveled my head toward the direction of the door and my eyes widened when I saw an enormous, highly agitated douchebag stomping in our direction.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who has left a review. It gets me all excited and makes me want to write even faster! ;))**

**I love my pre-readers: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. They are so wonderful! ;) And Halo221 is my dream beta babe. She's incredible!**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 8**_

"Ow," I mumbled with a groan as I gently touched Bella's hand that held the ice pack to my now swollen-shut black eye.

"Sorry," she murmured, adjusting the ice carefully.

I liked the way she stood between my legs taking care of me so tenderly. I loosened my tie and shifted a little on the stool, grimacing when my sore ribs shouted at me. With stealth-like precision and hoping she wouldn't notice, I quickly wrapped my arms around her waist. It was no different than dancing, right? "I'm in a lot of pain," I whispered with a pout. "It would feel better if you kissed it. And don't forget to lay a big one on my lips while you're at it."

She let out the cutest little snort and totally ignored me.

Pulling the ice pack away from my eye, her brows furrowed. "It looks terrible," she said all worried and concerned, causing my heart to beat erratically.

"I took it like a man, though, didn't I?"

Sighing heavily, she put the ice pack back on my eye. "Why won't you let me call the cops? Or press charges? This is the second time he's hurt you and he needs to pay for it."

I _really_ wanted to see that dickhead in jail, but I didn't want to see the inside of a courtroom ever again. I'd had enough of that to last a lifetime. He'd have to put me in the hospital before I pressed charges. "It isn't worth the trouble, Bella. Besides, I'm fine."

"You aren't fine. You just said a second ago that you were in a lot of pain."

"I lied because I want you to baby me and be my nurse," I said before lowering my voice. "You don't happen to have a naughty little outfit you could wear, do you?"

Another snort popped out of her before she could catch it. But almost immediately, her forehead creased again as she gently pushed my hair off my forehead. I inhaled deeply, loving the way she smelled; all feminine and kind of fruity.

I cleared my throat. "He really is a prick, isn't he?" I said.

"Yeah…"

"So what went down with you two?"

She breathed a heavy sigh, staring into my one good eye. "Can we talk about it later?"

I desperately wanted to know every sordid detail, but I also didn't want to push her either so I just nodded. "Tell me when you're ready."

"I will."

I reached over and plucked one of the daisies from the vase on the counter and gently tucked it behind her ear, my fingers lingering for a few seconds on her cheek. The honeyed little smile she gave me would have knocked me on my ass had I been standing.

"Well, if nothing else," I said, "we have an awesome story to tell our grandkids. How we had our first date amidst windshield wipers and motor oil and how I got my ass handed to me on a platter."

"I warned you about getting involved with me. And Jacob-"

"Bella, listen," I said, taking the ice pack from her and setting it on the counter before I wrapped my arms around her again. "It was worth it. _You_ are worth it, you are _so_ worth it. I'd let him black my other eye if that meant I could spend more time with you."

She stared at me, such concentration on her part while I tripped clumsily and fell headfirst into those velvety chocolate eyes of hers. I was a goner. She sighed and shook her head disapprovingly at me, but that little blossoming smile on her lips gave her away.

"What can I say?" I said with a self-deprecating grin. "I'm crazy for you. And I hope you like cheese because I just served you some."

She laughed and tried to wipe the grin off her face but failed miserably. "I'm lactose intolerant."

"Such a sassy little thing," I said, tickling her ribs. She shrieked with laughter and tried to escape my arms, but I tightened my grip around her and kept her trapped. I liked having her as my prisoner. And my cocked liked it too, enormously. He wanted to put her in shackles and have his wicked way with her.

Her giggles died off and she calmed in my arms, staring at me for a long moment. The smile slipped away and her little brows furrowed. I didn't have to hear her thoughts to know she was overthinking everything again. "I know we like to joke and all, but…" she began.

"There are no buts, Bella, I-"

"Yes, there are. What if Jacob hurts you again or does something worse? I…" she trailed off, a stricken look on her face. She had feelings for me I clearly saw them etched on her beautiful face. They may have been small, but they were still there. She liked me and that made me giddy.

"Nothing's going to happen," I said softly.

"But it could. He could-"

"I like that you're worried about me."

"Seriously Edward, please listen to me…"

"I'm listening," I said, all smiles and giving her my absolute undivided attention.

"You're not taking me seriously."

"Oh, I am; I promise I am."

"Then why are you still smiling?"

"Because you make me happy."

She sighed heavily before resting her hands on my shoulders. "You're making things complicated and you said you wouldn't complicate my life."

"This right here? You and me? This isn't complicated, Bella. This is easy. It's just being and feeling and falling. Just let go; it's that simple."

"Falling is never easy."

I reached my hand up and touched her cheek. "It's easy when you have someone to catch you."

She looked so torn, like a part of her wanted to believe me yet another part refused to. "I just don't think I can give you what you want right now. You never-"

"You don't get it, Bella. Your simply being here with me right now is enough. I told you I would wait and I will, so stop trying to tell me what you can't give me."

Her body relaxed and she just kind of melted into me. She let go, I felt it.

"In fact, don't feel like you have to give me anything," I said softly. "Let someone else do the giving for a while. I have so much I want to give you."

She lowered her eyes and started fiddling with my tie. I wanted her to yank me towards her and start abusing me with her lips. "So, what would you give me?" she asked teasingly. "More pie?"

I had a smart-ass comeback on the tip of my tongue, but I immediately bit it back. "I'd give you all of me, Bella, everything."

Her mouth parted a startled gasp escaping her lips. But before she could respond, someone cleared their throat loudly. It scared me so much that I almost fell off the stool. I dropped my arms from around Bella like she'd just burst into flames, and she quickly stepped away from me.

"Uh, Bella? Is everything okay?" I looked up to see Garrett, the mechanic, standing in the doorway to the back of the shop. I'd met him earlier for a brief moment after he'd jumped in and shoved Jacob off of me. He wore a baseball cap low on his forehead and had his hands shoved into his blue work overalls. His eyes kept darting furtively between me and Bella.

"Yeah, everything's fine. Thanks, Garrett," Bella said to him.

He wore a deep frown on his face as he eyed me from head to toe before he looked back at Bella. "Let me know if you need anything," he said gruffly before nodding and heading into the back. Before I could move a muscle, the bell to the front door dinged and once again, I got so startled I almost jumped a foot off of my stool. Getting my ass kicked had turned me into one jumpy motherfucker. My eyes darted to the door – or I should say my one good eye darted to the door and my shoulders slumped in relief when I saw some old guy I'd never seen before enter the shop.

I quickly started packing everything back into my picnic basket while Bella waited on the customer. I made sure to leave the daisies on the counter for her.

Once the guy had left, I grabbed the picnic basket and stepped close to her, staring down into her dark eyes. "I want to see you again. Soon."

She grinned up at me. "You do?"

"Yes, I do. And I know you want to see me again because you like me and find me completely irresistible."

She laughed lightly. "You sure are confident."

"I know what I want. Give me your number, pretty girl. I want to be the only guy you date, ever."

"You're doing that complicated thing again."

"Who me? Never," I said with a chuckle as we exchanged phone numbers.

I started walking backwards towards the door. "Don't forget about my hot date with Waylon tonight," I said, grinning and raising my eyebrows suggestively. "You have some competition. It's cool if you're insanely jealous. Heck, he might try to steal second base tonight, you never know."

She giggled. "I'm going to pray for your sake that he doesn't."

I barked out a laugh because she had a point. "You'll be hearing from me soon, Counter Girl, so we can plan out the rest of our lives together."

She stood there, giggling and shaking her head at me with her little hands on her hips, looking all cute and saucy. I waved and laughed and headed out to the truck, feeling like I could fly. I felt so fantastic that I didn't even notice the rancid sardine smell. I started the truck but left it in park and grabbed my phone, sending her a quick text.

_**It's soon. Ready for date #2? E**_

I looked up through the glass and saw she had moved back behind the counter. I watched as she pulled out her phone and laughed.

_**Maybe… what do you have in mind? B**_

_**I remember seeing a porch at your house, but is there also a porch swing? E**_

I looked up and grinned when I saw that she had moved closer and stood just a few feet from the door, watching me through it with her phone in hand. She read my text and grinned while she quickly typed back a response.

_**Yes, we have a porch swing. Why? B**_

_**Perfect. How about I wine and dine you tomorrow night on your porch swing say around 6:00 pm? That way you can be close to your dad. E**_

She stared at her phone, her face growing serious and her smile disappearing. She looked up and stared at me, like she could see straight to my soul. My heart practically stopped beating and I held my breath for a second, worried that I'd done something wrong. But then she quickly typed a response, and I waited with bated breath like a fifteen-year-old girl for the message to show up.

_**Thank you. I'm so touched. I kind of don't know what to say except… yes. B**_

I heaved in a huge lung full of air and felt this warm sensation spread inside of me. I blew her a kiss and backed out of the parking lot, feeling like I was king of the world. I hung my head out the window my tie flying in the wind while I grinned like a dumb idiot the entire way home.

When I got inside, I peered at my reflection in the bathroom mirror and groaned when I saw my eye. A mass of blues, blacks, purples, and greens stared back at me. It was pretty much swelled shut. Oh, well. She'd said yes and that was all that mattered.

Since it was still early in the afternoon, I needed to get back to the diner. I quickly changed into my jeans and a t-shirt, and I honked at Bella when I drove back by. When I stepped inside the restaurant, a kind of hush came over everyone as they openly stared at me.

"What happened to your face, son?" Aro asked. "Did you run into a Mack truck?"

"Pretty much," I said with a chuckle because he'd nailed Jacob right on the head.

Aro and Ben stared at each other with quizzical expressions before looking back at me. "Well? What happened?" Aro asked again.

"Nothing happened. Now, have you guys had any pie yet because it's on the house today…" I said and thankfully, that shut them up at least temporarily.

I made my way back to the kitchen and Alice took one look at my face and yelled, "I told you so," with her wooden spoon held high like a magistrate with a gavel. I just laughed it off and managed to steal a french fry without getting smacked. My Kung Fu was strong.

We were busy the rest of the afternoon so I ended up not leaving until after six. I smiled as I stared at the darkened Swan Automotive on the way home and thought about our date. I wondered what Bella was doing right now. Was she thinking of me? I hoped so because that beautiful chick dominated my every thought.

When I got back home, Waylon came over and told me he'd drive us to the bowling alley in his other truck. I bit back a smile when I saw the passenger side window had a black trash bag covering it held up with copious amounts of duct tape. I got inside and took a hesitant whiff and thanked my lucky stars that it didn't smell like ass.

The trash bag made a loud flapping sound in the wind as Waylon told me he refused to spend a hundred bucks to fix the window when he could fix it with the trash bag for a couple of pennies. I understood where the guy was coming from since I still hadn't fixed the door on my Volvo due to my current lack of funds.

We got to the bowling alley, and I smiled when I saw Emmett. We'd only met once before when he fixed the toilet at the diner, but I just found him to be really likeable. Guess you could say it was the start of a "bromance." We hit it off immediately and it felt like we'd been old friends since childhood.

He shook my hand with his big beefy one, and I grimaced when he squeezed a little too hard. The man obviously didn't know his own strength. "Wow, I thought you'd look worse," he said, squinting and getting all up in my personal space as he inspected my face. "Although he did do a number on that eye of yours. Damn, I wish I could plow my fist into his face. He's a big, ugly fucker and fast but I've got more brawn. I'd so kick his monkey ass into next week," he said, pounding his fist into his palm. "If only his daddy didn't have me by the balls."

"What do you mean?"

He shook his head and sighed heavily. "That's a story for another day and a big bottle of Jack."

"So why does everyone in this town hate him so much?" I couldn't really understand how Bella ever got with the douche in the first place.

"Oh, Bella's the golden girl here. You cheat on her and your ass is branded for life."

"So how did you find out about our run-in?"

"He came into the bar afterward, got drunk, and spilled his shit. He's such a worthless fuck."

"Hey, Edward?" Waylon said interrupting us and doing the strange nose scrunch thing. "We're going to play teams: me, you and Emmett against Garrett and Paul." I looked up and didn't even recognize Garrett without his overalls and hat on. But in all honesty, I had paid him no attention earlier because all of my attention had been focused on Bella. He looked to be about my age or maybe a little older, much shorter than me and on the thin side with curly hair. He reminded me of a blond Orlando Bloom.

Waylon did some introductions, first introducing me to Paul and then to Garrett. I don't know why exactly, maybe it was just easier that way but Garrett and I both pretended like we'd never met, shaking hands and nodding at each other. I should have been thanking the guy for saving my ass earlier, but it just didn't feel right.

We had two lanes right next to each other. After ordering a round of beers, we started bowling and of course I could not keep my ball out of the gutter. I blamed it on the fact that I had only one functioning eye. Waylon proved to be quite competitive and kept trying to give me lessons the entire time. Honestly, I didn't give a rat's ass about learning how to bowl, but to keep the old man happy I paid attention and let him continue to tutor me… without success.

When Emmett's turn came up, he jumped up and I pulled out my phone and smiled as I shot off a text to Bella.

_**Waylon keeps molesting me with his eyes. E**_

She responded a few moments later.

_**LOL! You poor thing! But in Waylon's defense, you're not too bad to look at. ;) B**_

I could just picture her giggling, her eyes all shiny. I grinned as I texted back.

_**You think I'm hot, don't you? I knew it! E**_

_**LOL! I'll never tell. ;) B**_

_**I need you, pretty girl. The ass grab is imminent. I'm on high alert. E**_

"Ed, you're up!" Emmett bellowed loudly as he plopped down beside me. I tucked my phone in my pocket and grabbed my ten pound weeny ball which happened to be, appropriately, a very girly hot pink color. Waylon stood, intent on showing me the proper swing, but for some reason, I just couldn't get it. You'd think all my years of baseball would have helped, but it didn't. I threw the ball and knocked down one pin. I grinned and shouted, "Yes!" and did the cha-ching move.

"You bowl like a pussy!" Emmett shouted and I let out a loud cackle.

"Hey, you just knocked down the hardest pin," Waylon said all-serious with the bunny twitch thrown in. "Now just knock down the other nine. You can do it."

I tried really hard I really did and busted out laughing when I threw the ball straight into the gutter again. But I was at a disadvantage and needed to go to bat for myself. "Hey, old one-eyed Ed over here should get to use the bumpers," I said, pointing to my black eye. "I am handicapped, you know."

"You'd bowl a gutter even with the bumpers, you fucking pansy," Emmett shouted with a big grin on his face. I chuckled and sat back down and pulled out my phone, anxious to read Bella's response.

_**You're so funny. I love your sense of humor. B**_

Cue big, ridiculous grin on my big, dumb face.

_**Ah, so you love me? Why did it take you so long? E**_

I chuckled a little under my breath, knowing that would get to her. I quickly shot off another text, though, before she could respond.

_**I suck at bowling. FYI I will never take you bowling. It's too emasculating. E**_

_**I love to bowl. I could teach you. B**_

I had some things I wanted her to teach me, and they involved balls, but not of the bowling ball variety.

_**Tempting… will you grab my ass? If so, let's go bowling tomorrow. E**_

I couldn't stop grinning as I sat there and waited for her to respond.

_**You are just too much, Mr. Cullen. B**_

My stupid ass grin started making my face hurt. I was concerned I might get a cheek cramp.

_**Gotta go, my beautiful Counter Girl. We'll talk soon. E**_

I stuck my phone back in my pocket and turned my attention to the game. I could feel Garrett's eyes on me. I looked up at him, and the second our eyes met, he quickly looked away. It seemed a little strange, but I just shrugged it off. Emmett continued yelling out obscenities at me even after a group of teens from a church came in and started bowling next to us. I felt sorry for the adults that were supervising the kids because they looked like they wanted to hit Emmett over the head with a bowling ball and then shove some well-used bowling shoes in his mouth.

Paul turned out to be a nice guy, very quiet and laid back. He'd been bowling with Waylon for the last two years but Garrett… I couldn't figure him out. He barely spoke the entire night and I continued to catch him on more than one occasion staring in my direction. It was a little disconcerting.

When he and Paul got up to go order some food and get more beer, Emmett pulled me to the side. "So I heard Jacob's side of what happened today, but I want to hear your side."

"What did he say?"

"He whined and moaned like a little sissy girl about how some dick had come to town and was trying to steal his girl. He said he sent your ass a message, hitting you like half a dozen times before he backed off."

"That stupid shithead," I mumbled under my breath. "He hit me twice."

I wished I could have kicked his ass from here to Timbuktu for Bella's sake, but I considered myself to be more of a lover than a fighter. Besides, I was definitely no match for the behemoth douche brain.

"Well, there's not much to tell," I said. "He came barging toward me, and I just barely got Bella behind me before he flew across the counter and decked me in the face. Bella screamed. I tried to hit him back but missed and he got a good shot to my ribs. Then the next thing I knew, Garrett was between us, yelling and pushing Jacob back. Bella was screaming that she was going to call the cops and Jacob finally just took off. We never even spoke a word to each other."

"What a fucking asshole," Emmett practically shouted.

My mouth dropped open and my eyes widened and darted to the church group. I mouthed the word "sorry," but I don't think it helped any. "Emmett, there are church kids here!" I hissed at him.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot," he said, looking like a puppy with its tail between its legs. How could he have forgotten? We'd reprimanded him like twenty times already.

"I'm sorry, everyone, so sorry!" he yelled out, waving his hand at them.

I looked over at one of the chaperones whose face had drained of color. "What time does your church service start on Sunday because I'm going to drop this guy off," I said. "He needs Jesus and a good dose of the Holy Ghost."

The guy hesitated, looking around at the other adults. Guess Emmett was too far gone for their taste. "Um, ten a.m.?" he finally said with a lot of reluctance in his voice.

"You crazy bastard," Emmett mumbled under his breath before elbowing me in the ribs… my sore, very bruised ribs. I bent over and groaned.

"Oh, shit, sorry, Ed! You okay man? Damn, I didn't mean to do that."

I grimaced and sat up a little straighter, muttering under my breath.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry, dude, and sorry about my mouth. It gets away with me sometimes. I spend so much time at the bar and I drop the F-bomb like every other sentence so it's a nasty little habit that I can't just break in five minutes."

I just shook my head and gently rubbed my pained ribs. Emmett was something else. I looked around to make sure Garrett and Paul were still gone before I spoke again. "So, hey," I said, lowering my voice. "What's up with Garrett? I've been getting some weird vibes from him, like I've done something to piss him off."

"Oh yeah… well… I think you need to ask Bella about that."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I just think it'd be better if she tells you herself."

My stomach roiled. "Tells me what?"

"I'm probably the only one that knows…"

I swallowed hard, my stomach twisting into big, painful knots. "Knows what, Emmett? Tell me what you know."

And of course, Paul and Garrett had to pick that moment to show up. I grabbed a beer off the tray and chugged it back and then I just blatantly stared at Garrett. He stared back at me, his beady little eyes narrowing and I knew…

I just _knew_…

… That my Counter Girl had done the unspeakable with the mechanic.

Fuck my life.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: ****I have such a wonderful group of pre-readers: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. They make me smile so much. ;) And my beta, Halo221, who tolerates my craziness.**

**SM owns Twilight. I own the copyright on this story. Please don't plagiarize. **

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 9**_

"Lips, Lips, Lips," I groaned to Leah as I stared one-eyed up at the ceiling of my darkened bedroom. Streams of moonlight filtered in through the thin curtains and I could just barely make out the outline of the light fixture. But for some strange reason it kept moving. "What am I gonna do?" I may or may not have slurred a little – no, I _definitely_ slurred. "Trashed" could have been my middle name.

"Edward, snap out of it!" Lips never called me "Edward," never. I shook my foggy head and it felt like the bed had turned into a merry-go-round and someone had just spun it hard. "You're acting like a total pussy. So what if she did the mechanic? Get over it."

"I can't…" I moaned closing my good eye and hoping the whirling sensation would go away. It didn't. "Just the thought of him and his dirty fingers… " The violent thoughts that filtered through my brain shocked me. I literally wanted to rip his head off of his shoulders and chop off those greasy hands of his that had touched my Counter Girl; the sweetest and sexiest girl I'd ever known.

Lips barked out a laugh from the speaker on my cell phone that lay somewhere lost on my bed. "You're jealous! _The_ Edward Cullen is jealous. You're drunk off your ass, but this is a riot because I've never seen this side of you before. You really do have feelings for this chick, don't you?"

I grunted and rolled my eyes before gingerly turning on my side and hugging the pillow to my chest like a little prissy girl.

"But how could you be in love with her after one date? How long have you been in Forks? A week? You don't even know her."

"I _do_ know my girl," I said really slow and wasted-like. "I like her, my Counter Girl. She's purtty like the purttiest girl ever and she's got eyes, I mean dark eyes and I like 'em and the girl's little, like small but curves, she's got lots of curves, I _really _like 'em and she's purtty and she smiles and I feel weird and—"

"Holy shit, Night Crawler. Exactly how many beers did you have tonight?"

"I dunno. Who gives a crap? What if she's still… _ya know_…?" I couldn't even say the word. My stomach churned, the booze swishing around in my gut, making me feel all sickly and nauseous. I would be paying homage to the porcelain god very soon.

"Do you honestly think she is?"

"I don't know," I grumbled. "You said I don't know 'er."

"Hmm… I did, didn't I? Look, after all of the gushing you've done about how sweet and wonderful and perfect she is, do you _really_ think she's playing you and doing the mechanic on the side? It doesn't fit, Edward. It doesn't fit at all. Besides, she just broke up with Jacob. I really think she would have told you she was involved with someone before she accepted your date especially since your date was in the store where the mechanic works! That doesn't make sense; that she'd go on a date with you right in front of his face?"

My clouded boozy brain wasn't working on all four cylinders, but it seemed to be working well enough. I got a flash back to the first time I saw her when she traipsed in front of that counter for Jacob in that sexy outfit. Was she doing the same thing again just in a sick, twisted way?

"But, she didn't want me… and her bags…" I mumbled.

"You mean the mysterious 'baggage' that she keeps referring to?"

I acknowledged her with a grunt.

"You think Garrett is part of her baggage?"

I popped off another drunken grunting noise.

"Well, look at it this way. You _obviously_ want Bella so—"

"I _do_… I want her badly."

"So go get her. And even if it's the worst case scenario and she's doing Garrett on the side, steal her away from him. You have charm in spades, Night Crawler, so use that to your advantage. Go get your girl and live happily ever after. You're always telling me that no matter how messed-up life is you can still make your own happiness. You've always lived by that motto and _you_, more than anybody, deserve all the happiness in the world, Edward. It's time to get yours."

"I want her," I said again not sure if I'd said that already.

Lips laughed heartily. "Oh man, Night Crawler, you're a sappy, love sick drunk right now, but I truly believe you're blowing this all out of proportion. You don't even know what happened. You're just going on a hunch. Sleep on it tonight and get sober and talk to her tomorrow on your date. Get everything out in the open that way it's not eating you alive like it is right now."

I couldn't even think about going on our date. How would I be able to look at my precious Counter Girl without thinking of… _him?_ It felt like a big claw had reached inside my chest and squeezed my heart. "You shoulda seen the way he looked at me… that dickhead."

"Go to bed, dude. You are in no shape to be talking about this right now. I'll call you in the morning to check on you, okay? I love you, you crazy love sick Night Crawler," she said with a laugh before hanging up.

I laid there my head spinning like a top as I thought of all sorts of evil shit like how many different ways I could dispose of his body. I'd watched CSI before. It couldn't be that difficult. But before I had my plans in place, I fell out of bed and tripped four times on my way to the bathroom to go hug the toilet. And then I promptly passed out on the floor.

When I woke up the next morning with my very tender face flat against the ceramic tiles and my head feeling like multiple jackhammers had blocked off work zones around my temple regions, I had no idea where I was. So I just laid there doing nothing other than focusing on my breathing – which hurt something fierce by the way – as I tried to grasp any details from the previous night to indicate where I might be and what happened.

After what seemed like hours, but truthfully was only seconds, I started getting flashes. I first saw Bella's beautiful face, which made me happy. Then I caught a glimpse of that blue sweater of hers with her cleavage showing and that little snuggly necklace, which made me even more happy. I licked my dry, nasty-tasting lips. Even in my wretched hangover state, I still wanted to taste her skin.

Next, I got a couple snatches of Waylon and his bunny twitch along with a pink bowling ball. Then from out of nowhere, the mechanic's face appeared in my mind, his glaring eyes boring holes into my brain. I groaned and then groaned again.

And by that time, I had full clarity of the previous night's events and I wished it would all go away. But I couldn't get that lucky. So instead of dwelling on things I could not change, I opted for getting my ass up. It took me about twenty minutes to get from the bathroom to the kitchen – or at least that's what it felt like. Every single move I made hurt. I downed some orange juice and Advil and laid my head on the table for a while. The clock read 10:30 a.m. I'd totally overslept and needed to get my hung-over ass to the diner, but my body seemed to be stuck in slow motion.

I eventually made it back to the bathroom and stood under the hot, scalding water letting it pummel and massage my skin as I thought about Bella. I needed to talk to her. I wouldn't be able to function until I did. I thought about waiting until our date, but I couldn't wait that long. I hadn't even kissed the girl yet, and she had me all twisted-up inside.

When the water ran cold, I finally stepped out and dried off. I brushed my teeth twice before gargling with mouthwash to try and get rid of the foul taste in my mouth.

I slowly dressed and dug around in the covers on my bed for my phone. Lips had called and left a message. I didn't feel like talking so I sent her a text and told her I was fine and that I'd call her later. I grabbed my bandana and made my way out to the truck. I made especially sure to only breathe through my mouth because I knew if I got one whiff of that disgusting smell, I'd lose it.

My heart began palpitating the closer I got to Swan's. When I finally pulled into the parking lot, I could barely breathe, my stomach all empty and gnarly feeling as my eyes searched desperately for her. I stared at the empty counter and frowned.

Where was my Counter Girl?

I froze, my thoughts going to a dark, dark place. Was she in the back with him? If she was, I was going to lose my shit. I was no match for Jacob, but Orlando? Oh, hell yeah I knew I could beat his skinny ass especially with how very David Banner-ish I felt at the moment with loads of hot, white jealousy surging feverishly through my veins. I opened the truck door and leaned against it, taking in a couple of deep breaths to try to steady myself.

"Get it together, idiot," I mumbled angrily to myself as I jabbed my fingers roughly through my hair.

I finally moved and pushed open the door to the shop. It made its usual dinging sound but for some reason, it sounded louder than normal, almost amplified. I breathed shallow, my heart trying to escape through my mouth as I slowly made my way to the counter. I rested my tightly clenched fists on it and waited.

A moment later, a blond chick appeared with a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. She took a quick puff before setting it in the ashtray that lay on the counter, which hadn't been there yesterday.

"Holy shit," she said with a laugh, flipping her long hair over her shoulder and eyeing me inappropriately. "You are so much hotter than I thought you'd be. I honestly thought everyone was over-exaggerating. I _love_ being wrong. I'm Rosie, by the way." She held out her hand and I paused for a second, staring at the incredibly detailed, delicate-looking rose tattooed across it. The tattoo was black, the shading absolutely exquisite. It looked like a piece of art.

I held my hand out and quickly shook hers. "Edward," I said with a nod. "Where's Bella?"

"Look at that shiner," she said totally ignoring my question. "Jacob's such an asshole. So you're the guy that's been chasing after my big sister's tail, huh? I may have to steal you from her."

"Sorry, I'm not interested."

"Not interested?" she repeated with a laugh. "How can you not be interested in this?" she said, waving her hand down her body. And, boy, what a body she had with tits and ass stretching for miles. I only had eyes for Bella, but I will admit this girl had a banging silhouette. She had "bad girl" stamped all over her. Her striking blue eyes were outlined in heavy liner and she had a piercing in her eyebrow and lower lip as well as multiple piercings in each ear. There was one too many buttons undone on her red flannel shirt and I could see the outline of another tattoo on her breast. She looked young, maybe not even legal. She screamed "trouble" and I honestly didn't even want to be in the same room with her.

"Where's Bella?" I asked again.

"At home," she said with a come-hither smile. "But you can stay here and keep me company."

"No thanks," I said politely with a curt nod before I turned around and started walking towards the door. I heard "Run, Forrest, run!" in my head and I practically sprinted out of there.

Where did this sister come from? Bella had acted like it was only her and her dad growing up. Rosie couldn't be a blood relative. They were as far apart as night and day. I surmised she must be a step sister or something.

I got in the truck and sat there, debating what to do. I really wanted to go over to Bella's house, but I knew she was probably taking care of her dad and I didn't want to bother her. I'd just have to wait until our date. And that's when I realized I hadn't even given a thought to our date and had absolutely nothing planned. I mumbled a couple of curses under my breath as I rubbed the back of my neck.

I started the truck and headed to the diner. When I got there, the place was packed and there were even people standing outside the door waiting for seats to free up. People openly stared at me. I probably deserved it since I'd come to town and stirred up such a ruckus. Maybe my escapades would be good for business. I kept a set smile on my face and talked to everyone and did my best to keep the turmoil going on in my heart to myself.

After several long hours, I stepped into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, sipping some coffee. I just needed a minute to clear my head. I stood there quietly, lost in thought. I didn't say anything to Alice because I felt I didn't need to. I'd engaged her in conversation several times already and she had responded in her unique choppy way.

"You doing okay, Runt?" she asked after a few minutes as she flipped a couple of burgers on the grill.

I exhaled heavily. "Yeah…"

She left me to my thoughts for a moment. "Matters of the heart… it hurts like hell sometimes."

"Yeah, I'm finding that out," I said, taking another sip of coffee.

"Pain's only temporary."

I nodded.

She slapped double slices of cheese on the burgers covering them with a pan before she squirted water on the grill causing it to sizzle and pop loudly. "I don't want you sulking around here, Runt. You're starting to depress the hell outta me. When are you gonna see that little girl again?"

I set my cup down and turned towards her. "Tonight."

"Then get your shit together. Don't waste time. Life's hard and then ya die."

I stared at her for a long moment before out of nowhere she winked at me. I couldn't believe it. I immediately busted out laughing. I laughed hard and long and it felt amazing, like all of the pent-up feelings inside of me just burst free. Her words were so simplistic – and absolutely hilarious – yet it was just what I needed. "Okay," I said with another chuckle, slapping my hand on the counter. "You're right, Alice, you're absolutely right. I _can _do this. Thank you and one of these days I'm going to give you a big hug and maybe even kiss you on the cheek."

"You do and I'll hurt ya," she said in a thunderous voice. "Now get outta my kitchen!"

I couldn't stop laughing as I walked back to my office. She was right and so was Leah. I needed to get my shit straight. I set down and started planning our date. I needed to stay positive and hope that things would work out somehow.

I pulled out my phone and re-read our texts from last night. My face split into a huge smile as I stared at the words for a moment, trying to think of something to say. I finally started typing.

_**I accidentally bowled a strike and Waylon slapped my ass… hard. I'll never recover. E**_

I grinned as I waited for her response.

_**LOL! I just got a visual of that and I'm dying laughing. Sounds painful but congrats on the strike! B**_

_**You visualized my ass? Hot damn. Dreams do come true. E**_

_**Do you always have something dirty on your mind? B**_

_**Only when I'm thinking about you… E**_

I smiled crazily while I waited on her.

_**Tsk Tsk. I think someone needs to be punished. B**_

_**Agreed! Will you spank me? E**_

_**No! You seem to have a preoccupation for spanking. Should I be alarmed? B**_

If she only knew all of the alarming things I wanted to do to her…

_**Yes you should, pretty girl, yes you should. Rumor has it that you have a hot date tonight with a stud. Are you going to make out with him? Please? E**_

_**Bahaha! "Stud?" Seriously? Your ego knows no limits. B**_

_**In my defense, you did say I "wasn't too bad to look at" which translates to stud in the "Edward Knows All Dictionary." ;) E**_

I chuckled under my breath, loving flirting with her.

_**No kisses for my date tonight, Mr. Stud. ;) B **_

_**What's a guy gotta do in order to be worthy of one of your kisses? E**_

_**I'll let you know… B**_

I couldn't wipe the grin from my face. That gave me hope and I could hardly wait.

_**Dress warm: hat, gloves, etc. Or you could let ME keep you warm. E**_

_**You'd like that, wouldn't you? B**_

_**Oh, you have no idea how much. I'll see you tonight, Counter Girl. E**_

The rest of the afternoon zipped by quickly. Since the diner had been so packed, I didn't get out until late. I left with food in tow and stopped by the market on my way home to gather some things for our date.

I buzzed with nervous anticipation on the short drive to her house. I hoped that somehow we'd be able to work through this thing with Garrett. But more than anything, I hoped _I_ would be able to overcome my feelings on the topic and somehow slay the big green beast that lay barely contained inside me.

I pulled up in front of her house and turned off the truck. The front window glowed a warm yellow and the porch light emitted just enough brightness to illuminate the swing nicely. A swirl of smoke weaved its way upwards from the chimney on the side of the house. I grabbed my things from the truck and made my way to the porch my heart thumping rapidly. I spotted a small side table in the corner. I picked it up and set it in front of the swing, dropping my picnic basket onto it. Stepping up to the door, I closed my eyes for a moment, trying unsuccessfully to get my heart rate under control before I took in a deep breath and knocked.

Seconds later, the door opened and my heart ricocheted.

"Hi," she said with the softest smile her eyes all lit up for me like I'd just made her day by showing up. I wanted to pull her toward me and kiss that sweet smile off of her soft-looking lips. She wore the cutest little multi-colored knit hat with a big ball on the top of it.

"Hey," I said in response, my grin broadening, "cute hat." And suddenly, all that shit with Garrett just completely disappeared. I didn't care what had happened between the two of them. Well, no I _did _care and still wanted to kill him CSI style, but it just didn't matter in that moment. I simply wanted to be here, near her, with her in any way she would give me.

"Thanks," she said before the shine in her eyes dimmed and her pretty lips turned downwards as she stared up at my black eye.

"It looks worse than it feels but feel free to nurse me if you insist," I said bringing my hidden hand that I had behind my back into view. "And this is for you," I announced proudly, handing her a candy bar with a huge blue bow I'd added. It absolutely dwarfed it, but it's the thought that counts, right?

She laughed, her frown immediately vanishing. "Oh wow, thank you, I love it," she said gifting me an absolutely beaming smile before setting it on a table beside the door. "Let me grab my coat." She quickly slipped it on and pulled out a pair of gloves that matched her hat.

As I held the door for her and she stepped outside, my gaze followed into the interior of her home for a second. I could hear the low murmur of a TV and my eyes were drawn to what looked like pieces of paper taped low on the far wall. Each paper had a huge _X_ on it in bright orange. I could not figure out for the life of me why they were there.

"Is your dad going to be okay?" I asked.

"Yeah, he should be fine, at least for a little while. Today seems to be a better day… than normal."

"So he has good days and bad days?"

"Yeah, and his bad days… well, they're really bad."

"I'm glad that at least today is a good day for you both."

"Thank you."

"So, I brought this sleeping bag," I said holding it up and grinning, "but I'd prefer you just sit on my lap and let our body heat keep us warm. You make me hot, Counter Girl," I joked and gave her an eyebrow waggle for good measure.

She snorted and held her hands up defensively, shaking her head back and forth. "Oh, no, if I get anywhere near your lap, I'm afraid I might get spanked."

I chuckled. "I think my girl has some kink inside her. I like that. I like that a lot."

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she asked coyly. But then almost immediately she laughed her cheeks all pretty and rosy, and said, "No, I'm just kidding. There's no kink here, none whatsoever."

"Everybody has some kink in them. You just need to find the right person to bring it out. And I'm volunteering for the job, by the way," I said, giving her a big goofball grin and holding my hand up high like a first grader.

She snickered adorably and I joined in. I spread the thick sleeping bag across the swing and held my hand out towards her. "Have a seat, pretty girl."

She smiled warmly up at me her eyes all shining and twinkly. "Thank you… _stud_," she said before a torrent of giggles burst out of her.

I barked out a laugh. "See? You found a copy of my dictionary, didn't you? I think the name fits perfectly."

She maintained the cutest little grin on her face as I pulled a beanie from my pocket and put on some gloves. I sat down next to her pressing my thigh against the length of hers before I pulled the cover around us tucking it tightly. Just touching her thigh made me hard. My cock liked having her close but he wanted her even closer, and stark naked. "If you get cold, I can zip both of us up in this thing. I wouldn't want you to catch hypothermia when my hot body is right here at your disposal."

More laughter bubbled out of her as I opened the picnic basket and started pulling things out. I brought tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches wrapped in foil and hot chocolate.

"This is delicious," she said, taking a sip of the soup.

"I made it myself."

"You did?"

"No…" I said with a straight face. She threw her head back and laughed.

"The only cooking I can do is with the microwave. And even then, I've been known to blow shit up."

She laughed again.

"Yeah, there was the hot dog incident. He died with a bang. Then there's that one time a bowl of chili exploded on me. It was so bad I just threw my microwave away and bought a new one."

"You did not."

"Oh yeah, I did," I said before taking a bite of my grilled cheese. I had to hold it with my left hand because we were pressed together so closely that I couldn't even move my right arm. I loved it. I wondered if she'd mind if I moved it around behind her.

"Are you warm enough?" I asked eyeing the sleeping bag to make sure it was still wrapped around her tightly and taking the opportunity to snake my right arm around her on the back of the swing.

She looked up at me when she felt my arm behind her, but just kept smiling as she said, "Yeah, this is nice."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

We ate for a few minutes in comfortable silence the swing swaying gently. "So does your dad know I'm here?" I asked.

She breathed a soft sigh. "No, I debated whether to tell him or not. I just told him my friend, Lauren, was stopping by and that we were going to run to the store. He's so – I mean he _used _to be so protective of me, but now? Sometimes it's like… I don't even exist… or something."

I frowned and nodded. Life had to be tough for her. "I'd love to meet him one of these days when the time is right."

She thought for a moment and finally nodded. She then took another sip of her soup. "So did you have a good time bowling last night other than the slap?" she asked. "Who all went?"

I took a drink of my hot chocolate and swallowed. This was my opportunity. I needed to grab it by the horns. "It was me, Waylon, and Emmett against Paul and… Garrett."

I watched her carefully when I said his name. Her eyes widened ever so slightly and even in the half-light, it looked like her face paled a little.

"Look, Bella. There's no easy way to say this so I'm just going to throw it out there. I know something happened with you and Garrett and honestly it's been driving me crazy. I know I don't really have the right to ask this, but I'm going to ask anyway. What happened?"

I heard her sharp gasp, her lips parting slightly. "He told you?" she asked incredulously, her voice a whisper her wide eyes and swimming with guilt.

"No, he didn't have to. I could just sense it. I asked Emmett about it and he said I should ask you."

"Oh my god," she moaned, leaning forward and setting her soup on the table before covering her face with her gloved hands. I quickly set my cup down and angled my body towards her before I gently tugged on her hand.

"Come on, Bella. Please tell me," I said, my stomach seizing into a cramped, painful ball.

"You promise you won't tell anyone?" At my frantic nod, she finally caved. "It was a mistake, okay? It happened about a year ago. Jacob and I were having problems – we'd broken up again – and I was home from college on break. I was feeling… sad, _really_ sad so I stopped by the bar. He was there and I drank too much and… that's all."

I let her words sink in for a moment. "I hate him, Bella."

The guilt, hurt, and embarrassment all swept away from her expression as a little smile began to dawn on her lips. "You do?"

"Yes, I do. I want to hurt him. Please tell me he was the worst lay of your life and that he only lasted like three seconds."

A snort popped out of her before she let loose a long, relieved string of giggles. Conspiratorially, she leaned towards me and cupped her hand around her mouth. "He really was terrible," she whispered.

_"Yes!"_ I said joyously with my hands reaching towards the heavens. I felt so happy I wanted to jump up and run around the block.

"Oh, and my dad fired him."

"What?"

She nodded. "It was so awkward. Garrett kept acting… differently… even after I told him it was just a one-time thing. Then Dad somehow figured it out because of the way Garrett was behaving and fired him. I told Dad it was a mistake and begged him to hire him back. I felt so guilty that Garrett was going to lose his job because of me. Dad finally relented. So Garrett was fired one day and re-hired the next without anybody even knowing about it."

"I think you should fire him again."

"Edward, he's really a nice guy and—"

"No, he's not, Bella. He wants you."

"Well, it doesn't matter because I don't want him."

I gazed into the dark depths of her eyes for a long moment, the tip of her nose red from the outside chill. I reached my hand up and drew my gloved finger down her cheek, causing her to shiver. "Who do you want, Bella?" I demanded my voice low and husky.

She chewed on that lower lip of hers for a second her eyes glowing with warmth and fire. "Well, there is this stud I've been thinking about…"


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: ****My pre-readers are amazing: Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen. Thank you, ladies. And my beta, Halo221, finds my blunders. She is the best.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 10**_

My heart hammered in my chest as I digested her words. My Counter Girl wanted me. Sure, she'd answered me in a teasing flirty way, but I could still see that hot, smoky look in her eyes.

A slow, lazy smile stretched across my face. "I knew you wouldn't be able to resist me for long, pretty girl. I think it's time for a kiss," I said leaning towards her and puckering my lips up so big and fat that I could've been Angelina Jolie's twin brother.

Bella pushed me back and howled with laughter, the little ball on her knit cap bouncing around.

I fake scowled, creasing my eyebrows together, but I knew she could see the amusement in my eyes. "No kisses? Not even a little peck?" I pouted.

She shook her head and continued to giggle.

"You sure play hard to get, Counter Girl, but it won't be long before you're begging me to kiss you."

"You think so?" she countered, her eyes dancing.

"Oh, I know so," I said scooting back close to her and tucking the sleeping bag around us again. "Want some more hot chocolate?"

"Sure," she responded and I quickly refilled our cups.

I had just slipped my arm around her shoulder again when her phone dinged with a text. She pushed the sleeping bag off and stood, retrieving her phone from her back pocket. "Oh. It's Dad," she breathed, her face falling. "He needs me."

"That's okay," I said as I stood up. "I totally understand."

She stared up at me with a wistful, saddened smile on her face. "I wish I didn't have to go," she said longingly. "I had such a wonderful evening. Thank you for everything. I really enjoy spending time with you, Edward."

I watched her lips as they moved, looking so soft and kissable. Why the hell wouldn't she kiss me? I had to suppress my overwhelming urge to grab her and press her curves against me and smother her lips with mine until she couldn't breathe.

Her words brought a soft smile to my face. "I love every second I'm with you, Counter Girl."

Her sad little smile transformed into pure sweetness. I shoved my hands into my coat pockets and let out a contended sigh and just stood there grinning and staring at her soaking all of it in. She broke the moment by gesturing towards the house. "Well, I'd better go. Do you need any help with your stuff?" she asked, looking over at our picnic area.

"No, I've got it," I said, following her the few steps to the door. She opened the screen and paused, turning back towards me. I held the screen for her and for a second, I thought she might yank me towards her and lay a big smacker on me. But unfortunately, my lips stayed lonely. Her mouth parted like words were hanging there ready to be spoken, but she quickly dashed them away with a shake of her head.

Smiling sheepishly, I reached up and tugged her hat down over her eyes. She laughed and scooched it back up, her eyes brimming with merriment.

"I'm going to dream about you tonight, pretty girl," I said with a roguish grin, "but I need to warn you; it's probably going to be dirty."

Her playful smile morphed into a smirk and a spark flamed in her eyes. "That's okay," she said, grabbing my coat and bringing me close, so close that our lips were just inches apart. "I dreamed about you last night," she whispered in a breathy voice, "and it was X-rated."

My jaw dropped. She released me and with a laugh tossed over her shoulder, she closed the door and left me standing there, speechless.

My cock jumped into formation and tried to chase after her. I wanted to break the door down and demand details of that dream. And maybe even do a re-enactment. How could she do this to me?

I swallowed hard and with a disgruntled grunt, I started tossing everything back into my picnic basket. I grabbed it and the sleeping bag and made my way out to the truck. No way was I going to let this rest. I grabbed my phone and fired off a text to her.

_**X-rated? You're killing me here, pretty girl. How X-rated? E**_

I waited my pulse quickening as I stared at my phone…

I looked up at her house, and it looked peaceful – almost Norman Rockwell painting peaceful – giving nothing away.

I stared back down at my phone again and waited, and then waited some more.

With a heavy, very frustrated sigh, I finally shoved my phone back into my pocket. I knew she had to take care of her dad, but I was a greedy, horny bastard and needed details about that dream.

My cock took pity on me and tried to fill in the blanks. He began flashing a hundred different dream scenarios my way: Bella and I doing it doggy style in a hot tub, me wall banging her in my hallway and causing pictures to crash loudly to the floor, her spread eagle on my bed chained to the railing, Bella on my couch riding my cock like a stallion shouting my name and holding a lasso in her hand.

The list went on and on.

As I relished Bella's imagined naked body in dozens of different ways, I put the truck in gear and headed towards McCarty's. Emmett had invited me to the bar, and I told him I'd stop by.

I pulled into a parking space and turned off the truck. I then looked down at my stiff, uncomfortable dick. "She's not here and she's not answering her texts. Shrink, you bastard."

He wouldn't listen. Just the mere thought of Bella having an X-rated dream starring him made him ecstatic. I tried to think of disgusting things like: a steaming pile of horse shit…

Didn't do squat.

I thought of Alice and Jasper doing the jungle dance…

And oh yeah, that knocked him down a notch.

Then I considered Waylon's feet…

And that did it. Cock over and out.

I exited the truck and checked my phone again to make sure I hadn't missed anything and still no text.

With my shoulders hunched, I pushed open the door to the bar and immediately got blasted with loud country music. The floor and bar were all covered in a light pine-colored wood, and almost every square inch of wall space had something plastered on it from the strange to the bizarre.

My eyes darted back and forth unable to take it all in. I eyed a large purple unicorn head, a pig wearing a cop's outfit, and a picture of a cat sitting on a toilet.

I frowned and simultaneously laughed as I counted four deer and two large moose heads that had dozens of panties dangling from the antlers. But then I stopped in my tracks and just stared in awe at the alligator head mounted above the bar. It was gigantic. And it looked real.

A half a dozen or so people were on the dance floor and about half of the tables were taken. I chuckled and sat down at the bar. "Ed!" Emmett shouted a huge boyish grin on his face. "Whatdya think of the place?"

"It's awesome, really awesome, although I didn't picture you as a country kind of guy."

"Are you fucking kidding me? Who doesn't like Garth Brooks?"

I chuckled. "And what about those?" I asked, nodding towards the deer heads.

"I shot them myself," he said proudly. "I love to hunt, but it's hard to find the time." He leaned towards me, resting his gorilla-like forearms on the bar, his hands the size of baseball gloves. "Plus, it's a great way to get the ladies to lose the panties. Bella's got a pair up there," he said waggling his brows.

Emmett shouldn't have said that because I immediately got smacked with a visual of Bella reaching up under that tight little black skirt of hers and slowly pulling her panties down her silky thighs. My eyes darted up to the deer and I tried to figure out which pair would be hers. Was she a thong girl or maybe she was into lace? And I needed to stop thinking these kinds of thoughts!

"So what can I get ya?" Emmett asked in his booming voice.

"I'll take a beer."

He grinned and nodded. "Hey, Riley, come take over for me," he hollered over his shoulder as he began pouring two beers. A middle-aged guy with a crew cut who looked like he'd spent one too many hours in a tanning bed appeared. Emmett introduced him as his bartender before he led me to a booth.

"So did you get to talk to Bella?" he asked before taking a swig of his beer.

"Yeah, it wasn't as bad as I thought. It happened a while ago."

"Good. I'm glad you got it worked out," he said. "Garrett was acting like an asshole last night. He's usually not like that. That shit ain't cool."

I nodded. "He obviously still has a thing for her, but she made it clear that she's not interested."

"Good. Bella's a really sweet chick and hot as hell."

I laughed. "Hey, now, she's mine so back the fuck off."

"Oh, she's all yours, lover boy. Only one woman holds my bleeding heart."

I smiled. "Ah, and who is this lady?"

His huge frame slouched sadly before he tossed his beer back, guzzling it. He slammed his mug down and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. "Rosie… Rosie, Rosie, Rosie," he mumbled glumly before his shoulders slumped like the air just got knocked out of him.

I frowned. "Wait, do you mean Rosie as in Bella's sister Rosie?"

He nodded dejectedly. I felt awful for the guy because he'd probably shit a brick if he knew she'd tried to pick me up earlier. Then again, based on the look on his face, he probably wouldn't be too surprised. She _did_ seem the type.

"I met her today over at the shop," I said. "How are they related?"

He took in a heavy breath. "Well, Bella's dad hooked up with a chick named Charlotte maybe five years ago. Charlotte was divorced and had Rosie from a previous relationship. Charlotte found out she had cancer and… well, she died before they could marry. Rose didn't have any other family so she stayed with Bella and Charlie for a while. Rosie's…" Emmett trailed off, staring at something over my shoulder. I turned and looked and there was nothing there except for a jack-a-lope wearing Ray-bans and a gold rapper chain, along with a ton of other unexplainable shit.

I looked back at him. "She's what?" I prompted him.

Emmett snapped out of it and made eye contact again. "She's wild; a little rebel and hellfire as wild as they come. And I love her, dear god I love her, heart and soul. But she won't have shit to do with me. She went off to college and got kicked out; that's why she's back here now. I'm too old for her, by six years. I know I'm too old but damn it, I don't give a fuck."

"How old is she?" I asked.

"She just turned twenty."

I nodded. At least she was legal. And that made Emmett what, twenty-five or twenty-six? That wasn't so bad.

"Hey, Boss, you ready for another one?" a girl asked. I looked up into smiley blue eyes and a heart-shaped face. Her light brown hair hung in ringlets around her face.

Emmett sighed heavily. "Yeah, and bring Ed another one, too," he said to her quietly before looking at me. "Do you know Lauren?"

_Lauren… I remember that name. Oh yeah, Bella's friend…_

I shook my head.

"Ed, this is Lauren Mallory. Lauren, this is Edward Cullen."

She laughed. "I've heard so much about you I feel like I already know you."

I grinned. "Don't believe anyone except Bella."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," she said with a smile before leaving to go get our beers. Within minutes, she was back and Emmett seemed to be trying to drown his sorrows. I wanted to know more about what made him this way.

"So what exactly happened with you and Rosie?"

His Thor-like pecs flexed as he took in another deep breath. "Well, it took me a lot of work, but I finally convinced her to go out with me. I brought her back here – I live upstairs. I wasn't planning on doing anything but, well, she tied me to the bed and she took me to heaven. It was fucking paradise, dude. I trembled, man. I felt so overwhelmed that I just had tears in my eyes. And do you know what she did? She laughed. She laughed and left. Left my sorry ass tied to my fucking bed."

He paused and rubbed his eyes before exhaling a long breath. "She took me to heaven and dropped me right back off into hell in one fucked-up night. It took me two hours to get myself untied. I thought for a minute that someone might have to come rescue me. She broke me, man. And she hasn't spoken to me since."

"Damn," I said with a shake of my head before taking a huge swig of my beer. I suddenly wished that I hadn't asked him about her. He took TMI to a whole other level. He did that thing again where he stared off in the distance, a glazed look in his eyes. Rosie had the big guy all twisted up.

I sat there for a while, thinking about his story and staring absently at all of the weird crap on the walls. I finally cleared my throat. "I'm sorry Emmett, but I really don't know what to say."

He nodded and sighed heavily. "Yeah, she really fucked me up. We were so good together. I don't know what I did wrong."

"Honestly, I don't know much about relationships but maybe you can start over with her. Tell her you want another chance, a do-over."

"I've tried but she won't even talk to me."

"Pursue her, relentlessly if you have to," I said. But before he could respond, Lauren stopped by the table and needed Emmett for something. He excused himself as my phone in my pocket vibrated. I quickly pulled it out.

_**Very X-rated. B**_

"_Yes!"_ I mumbled under my breath as a big, extremely pleased grin broke out across my face.

_**XXX? E**_

_**Maybe… ;) B**_

I chuckled. It was so XXX and that made me delirious.

_**Stop playing coy. Where did we fornicate? Bedroom? Couch? In front of Garrett and hopefully Jacob? E**_

_**OMG! I can't believe you just said that! I'm blushing! B**_

_**Said what? Now answer the question. E**_

_**Ugh! Okay, here goes. On the counter… at the store. B**_

My breath vanished from my body. She was my dream girl and I loved her.

_**Were you wearing that tight little outfit with the short skirt? E**_

I smiled, knowing that would probably embarrass her.

_**I hate that you saw me like that. No, it was one of those weird dreams. I showed up to work… naked. OMG! I can't believe I just told you that! LOL! B**_

Just her words alone made my cock so hard.

_**Please show up to work tomorrow naked. PLEASE, I'm begging you! I need some wipers. I'll make sure to stop by. E**_

I chuckled and watched my phone like a hawk.

_**LOL! You are soooo bad. B**_

_**I've got it bad for you, pretty girl. ;) Did I show up naked too? E**_

_**No, you were wearing a cape. Hahaha! B**_

I busted out laughing. I laughed so hard I got a little choked.

_**Like Superman? Did I have special powers? Like the ability to make you come over and over and over again? But wait, I already possess that power. ;) E**_

I didn't dare breathe as I stared at my phone. Had I stepped over the line? Hell yeah, I sped over that line by a mile. I always seemed to push the limits with her. I just couldn't help myself. But had I pushed her too far?

I waited and got no response. My heart started jogging and was about to break out into a full-on sprint when my phone vibrated. I blew out a breath and read the words as fast as I could.

_**Um… I've never done that before… B**_

I frowned and re-read her text. What did she mean? She'd never done what? I went back and quickly re-read my words. My mouth gaped. Did she mean what I thought she meant?

_**You've never had multiple O's? E**_

_**Uh, no… and once again, I cannot believe I am admitting this to you! Ack! B**_

A salacious grin made its way to my face. I knew those douchebags didn't know how to treat her in bed. It was time for a real man to show her how it's done.

_**Oh, the things I have in store for you, Counter Girl. ;) E**_

_**I'm embarrassed over here :( B**_

I chuckled.

_**Since we're sexting, how about we just skip to the sexing? That way I can just show you what I'm talking about. When can I see you again? E**_

_**No sexing… yet. And I don't know. B**_

Yet was good; I could work with that.

_**How about tomorrow night on your porch again same time? E**_

_**Okay. ;) It's a date. B**_

_**Dream about me again, pretty girl, only this time we get naked up against the back of my front door because we can't make it an inch past it. E**_

I sat there waiting and smiling devilishly. I could just picture her with her mouth gaped open and a shocked little grin on her face as she tried to figure out what to type next.

_**The things you say! Oh my goodness! LOL! See you tomorrow. B**_

_**If you like the things I say just wait until you see the things I can do. ;) E**_

I happily tucked my phone back into my pocket just as Emmett sat back down across from me.

"So you said to pursue Rosie. What should I do?" he asked his posture straightening and his eyes lighting up for the first time. "I've tried calling her, texting her, and I've even shown up on the Swan's door on more than one occasion."

"Well, start out slow by just sending her a text. Don't call her. She'll just delete your voicemails without listening to them."

He pulled out his phone and stared at me anxiously. "Okay. What do I say?" I almost laughed because how old was this guy again?

"Well, what do you want to say to her?"

"That I love her and miss her and want to marry her."

I almost spit my beer out. But I also felt a little hypocritical since I was damn close to feeling that way about Bella. I chortled and shook my head. "You have to start out small and keep it simple. Maybe say something like, 'I thought of you today.' She'll read it and hopefully be curious."

He nodded eagerly. "Oh yeah that's some good shit right there," he said quickly typing the message with his sausage fingers. Before hitting send, he looked up at me, his fat index finger suspended in mid-air. "Should I send it? You think it'll work?"

I shrugged. "You won't know until you try. It's better than doing nothing at all, right?"

He nodded his expression grave. He hesitated and looked up at me one more time before he finally hit the send button. He grinned, a big relieved grin. "Damn, that felt good."

"If she responds today, don't respond back. Wait until tomorrow. Keep her guessing."

"So what should I say? When she does respond?"

"Well, let's just wait and see what she says first."

I drank another beer and Emmett regaled me with the story of his capture of the giant gator mounted above his head, which he had named Buster. Funniest story I ever heard. I eventually headed home, and called Lips back. I spent an hour on the phone with her. She had drama going on with the new chick she was dating and had to tell me every detail.

I went to bed thinking of Bella and her X-rated dream, hoping she'd make an appearance in mine. But of course that didn't happen. Instead, I woke up in the middle of the night covered in a cold sweat. I dreamed that Rosie took Buster's head down from over the bar and put Emmett's head up there instead. Then she tied my naked except-for-my-black-cape ass to the back of Waylon's truck and floor boarded it. It terrified the hell out of me. I tossed and turned for an hour or so more before I finally fell back asleep. And thankfully this time it was dreamless.

When I arrived at the diner the next morning, I couldn't wait to see Alice. "Good morning," I said to her in an upbeat voice. "You're not only an incredible cook, but you're also a wise and lovely woman. Thank you for the advice yesterday. Things worked out nicely."

She stared at me for a moment with her sharp, "misses nothing" blue eyes, and I could see her trying to stifle a smile. She made an "mmmph" sound before turning back to her cooking. It was definitely a step up from her usual growl or grunt.

"It won't hurt, you know," I said, leaning against the counter.

"What won't hurt?"

"To smile once in a while; it might actually feel good. That wink yesterday was pretty painless, right?"

"Don't tell me what to do, Runt," she roared but I could see just the whisper of a smile on her wrinkled lips. "Get on outta here."

The rest of the day went off without a hitch even though it seemed to drag on for an eternity. I decided on Alice's chicken and dumplings for our date and a piece of mile high chocolate cake that she only made once a month.

I pulled up in front of Bella's house, grinning from ear to ear eager to see her again.

Hoisting my picnic basket and sleeping bag out of the truck, I practically skipped to her door. I set everything down and knocked, but frowned when she didn't answer. I could hear voices but couldn't make out the conversation. I raised my hand, about to knock again when the door finally opened. A rather haggard looking Bella answered. She had her hair up in a ponytail and wisps of it had escaped, framing her face. She still looked beautiful as always but tired, like she hadn't slept well.

I opened my mouth to ask her what was wrong but was stopped by a loud, slurred male voice. "Who the hell is it?"

Bella's brows furrowed as she stared up at me. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"It's okay," I whispered back. I wanted to touch her face, her cheek, kiss that little crease in her forehead away.

"It's just a friend, Dad," she called out to him. "I'll just be a minute."

She grabbed her coat and stepped out onto the porch, closing the door behind her.

"I'm so sorry, Edward. He's not having a good day. I should have canceled on you earlier, but I was hoping he'd get better because… I really wanted to see you tonight. I was being selfish."

Her words sent a jolt to my heart. I took a step closer and grabbed her hand in mine. "You are the most selfless person I know so don't ever think that. The way you gave up everything to take care of him? You're—" I stopped abruptly mid-sentence because of a loud crashing sound coming from inside the house.

Bella dropped my hand and turned, flinging the door open. I quickly followed her inside. Her dad sat in the middle of the room in a motorized wheelchair. On the wall next to the TV was what looked like splattered spaghetti sauce. My eyes dropped to the carpet below and there lay a broken plate with spaghetti and broccoli strewn everywhere. Before I could gauge the rest of the damage, a low, slurring voice growled in my direction, "Who the hell are you?"

Bella's guarded eyes darted to mine. I gave her a quick nod and my eyes sent her a silent conversation to let her know everything was going to be okay. I straightened and turned my gaze on Charlie, staring him down eye to eye. "I'm Edward Cullen, sir," I said in a loud, confident voice. "I just recently moved here and took over the diner. Bella and I have become friends."

Above his thick, unkempt salt and pepper beard were piercing, coal-colored eyes – so similar to Bella's yet so different. He used them as a weapon, trying to stab me, cut me even but I stood firm, unblinking. No way would I let him intimidate me.

"What, you think you can butter me up so you can get into my daughter's panties?" he snarled. My eyes widened and I think my mouth fell open because I knew from the rumors that he had a temper, but I wasn't expecting this type of reception.

His flame-fueled gaze dropped, staring squinty-eyed at my hand hanging by my side.

And yeah, it probably did look like I was trying to get into Bella's panties since I forgot about the single red rose I had in my hand. "No, sir, my intentions with your daughter go much deeper than that. I'm after her heart, not her panties."

And with a shrug and a half-grin, I handed the rose to Bella.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm back! Oh, how I've missed all of you! For the past several weeks, I've been diligently re-working chapters 1-10. I've been editing, doing some re-writes, polishing up the dialogue etc. So please go back and re-read the chapters and let me know what you think. I'm really excited about the changes I've made, and I think I've definitely improved the story. Love you guys!**

**Thank you to my gals and especially to Halo221 for her invaluable input on this chapter.**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 11**_

"I removed the thorns," I said to Bella, nodding towards the rose in her hand. "I didn't want you to prick your finger or anything."

She stared down at the flower, running her fingers along the smooth green stem. She lifted it, inhaling its fragrance before capturing my eyes with hers. The blazing embers in those milk chocolate drops could have burned the clothes right off my body. It felt like the temperature in the room just shot up into the triple digits. Apparently Counter Girl liked my small gesture or it might have been the proclamation I just made to her dad. Either way, I wanted her to stare at me like that for the rest of my life.

"Thank you," she whispered, rubbing the petals against her lips**, **her eyes doing dreadful and wonderful things to me.

It was all kinds of wrong and I was headed straight for hell, but my dick started responding. I cleared my throat roughly and scratched at my chin. "You're welcome," I said my voice _way _huskier than I wanted it to be.

But her dad managed to squash the mood rather quickly. "Get the hell out of my house," he snapped his words slightly muddled due to the effects of his stroke.

"Dad, stop it!" Bella snapped back before I could respond. "Edward is a wonderful person, and I'm not going to let you treat him like that."

I couldn't believe she stood up for me like that. My heart swelled with so much pride I thought it might burst through my shirt.

I stood there for a second or two watching the fury roll off of Charlie in waves before Bella grabbed my hand and tugged me towards the kitchen. We went through what looked like a former dining room – it still had a china cabinet in the corner – but now housed a large hospital bed where the dining table would have been. A few steps past that and we arrived in a small kitchen. Peeling yellow gold wallpaper with odd little scrolls on it lined the walls and a 1970's circa table and chairs sat to the side.

"He makes me so mad!" she ranted in a hushed voice so Charlie wouldn't hear before quickly placing the rose I gave her in a cup of water. She turned toward me. "I can't believe he said all of that to you."

"It's okay Bella. Believe me, I've heard worse."

She paced back and forth in the kitchen her fists clenched tightly at her sides. I made sure to give her some space to cool off. Eventually, she stopped pacing and grabbed my arm, looking earnestly up into my eyes. "I'm so sorry he was mean to you. You didn't deserve that. You've been so sweet to me. What a horrible way to meet the parents."

"You don't have to apologize for him," I said as I took her hand in mine and squeezed it softly. "You can't control what he says."

"I know. But it's just so hard sometimes," she said as she looked down at our clasped hands. "This is going to sound terrible, but, I've had days when I didn't even want you to meet him. He just… he embarrasses me so much."

I tugged her into my arms and gave her a gentle hug. "I'm sorry you're having to go through this. I wish I could whisk you away from here and make everything better."

She laid her head on my chest and hugged me back, heaving a heavy sigh. "You _are_ making things better."

"I'm here for you, Bella," I whispered against her hair. "In whatever way you need me."

She sighed softly and looked up at me with a sweet smile on her lips. Relief washed over me because I hated seeing her so sad. I only wanted to make her smile. I kissed her lightly on the forehead and released her, slipping off my jacket. "Now, if I remember correctly, we have some cleaning up to do," I said as I reached to help her with her coat.

She froze, her eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, no, I can clean it up."

I finally got her coat off and hung it on a chair. "I know you can clean it up but I want to help you clean it up."

"But I…"

I grabbed her and pressed her body close our mouths inches apart. "If you don't quit arguing with me," I whispered, "I'm going to break my promise and kiss you long and hard."

Her eyes glazed over as her lips parted and I could feel her increased breath on my skin. I licked my lips as I stared at her perfect mouth desperate to feel it against mine. I wanted nothing more than to get her to kiss me, but I knew we had a ton of other issues to work through first. I released her and stepped back, smirking when she had to do a balance check. I liked the effect I seemed to have on her.

"Let's go get our hands dirty, pretty girl," I said with a grin as I pushed up my sleeves.

She stared at me for a bit longer before she shook her head and seemed to come to her senses. "It's just that…" she said, "Edward, no one has ever offered to help me before."

My heart seized in my chest. Of course that douche face would have never helped her. It made me hate him even more. I reached my hand out and grazed her cheek with my fingertips. "See?" I whispered. "You need me."

Her lips curved into the loveliest smile before she wrapped her arms around me again and hugged me tight. "Thank you," she whispered back. I hugged her soft little body close to mine, resting my cheek against her hair. I inhaled her fruity fragrance and we just stood there holding each other for the longest time. She needed someone to cling to; someone to support her. I wanted to keep her in my arms forever.

She finally broke the spell and pulled away. I had to resist the urge to grab her again. She ducked down and pulled a container from underneath the sink filled with cleaning supplies, a box of small trash bags, and a miniature broom and dust pan. She'd been around this track before, and I didn't like it.

We spent the next fifteen minutes or so on our knees cleaning up Charlie's mess. Charlie didn't talk. Instead, he changed the TV channels over and over again and kept hurling huffing, pissed-off grunting noises in my direction. His eyes stayed glued to me the entire time.

Once Bella started wiping the spaghetti sauce off of the wall, I saw the damage that lay underneath. The drywall had chunks carved out of it from god only knows how many plates smacking against it. And even though Bella used carpet cleaning solution, the carpet still had a grimy haze to it that refused to leave.

After putting all of the cleaning stuff away and washing our hands, we ended up back in the living room. I didn't sit down right away and neither did Bella. Instead, my eyes honed in on the black-framed charcoal sketches that hung on the white walls like art in an art gallery. One in particular caught my attention. It pictured a small girl on a dock holding a fishing pole, her tiny fish off-hook and flopping every which way as she tried to capture it before it escaped back into the water. An attractive young man with a thick moustache stood behind her his head thrown back laughing like he didn't have a care in the world.

I knew right away that Bella must have been the artist; I remembered her telling me about her art degree. My girl had incredible talent. But could that really be Charlie? I frowned, staring intently at the sketch before I looked over at the grizzled, hateful, handicapped man in the wheelchair. I couldn't put the two together.

"Did you do the artwork?" I asked turning towards Bella.

She smiled and nodded. "Yep, that's me."

"They're incredible. You're very talented."

"Thank you."

I turned back to the last sketch. A woman stood on a beach facing a turbulent ocean; however, her face was looking behind her, over her shoulder towards the artist. Bella captured the woman's pained, anguished expression so skillfully. The beauty and heartache of it left me with a haunted feeling.

I took my time studying the sketches. I felt it gave me a little more insight into Bella.

After a few minutes, I shoved my hands in my pockets and turned towards Charlie. "Um, Mr. Swan?" I asked, staring into his hate-riddled eyes.

"It's Charlie," Bella interjected. "You can call him Charlie."

"Okay. I'm going to call you Charlie, sir, and I hope that's not disrespectful."

I paused for a beat and got nothing from him other than silent jagged daggers.

"I know you said you wanted me to leave, and I'll respect your wishes. I just wanted you to know that I've really enjoyed getting to know Bella, and I look forward to getting to know you too."

"Leave," he groused hatefully as he pointed towards the door.

"Dad!" Bella reprimanded him in an agitated voice.

"It's okay Bella," I said before turning back to Charlie. "I will leave, sir, but I do plan on spending more time here. I just wanted you to know so you could prepare for it."

"You will never be welcome in this home," he roared.

"I'm done with you, dad," Bella said before she grabbed my hand and dragged me back into the kitchen.

"I'm so sorry, Edward, I-"

"Shhh…" I said, tugging her into my arms and pulling her close. "Have you had supper yet?"

She sighed heavily. "You're ignoring me."

"I would never ignore you. I'm just ignoring your unnecessary apology. Now, you have to be hungry, right?"

She stared at me for a long moment before she finally nodded.

"Good. Then I'll leave you the food I brought."

Her face crumbled. "Oh, no, our date. I totally forgot about it. I told you I wasn't dating material."

"No worries, pretty girl. We're going to have plenty more dates in our future. Are you working tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"I have the day off. Want to have breakfast with your stud?"

A smile crossed her lips. "With all this food you keep bringing me, I'm going to get fat."

"Not a chance," I said my eyes dragging up and down her body. "You're such a tiny little thing, but so curvy. I'm so attracted to you."

She laughed, her cheeks pinking. "You're embarrassing me."

"I know you have the hots for me, pretty girl. Don't deny it."

She grinned and shook her head.

I grabbed my coat and on my way out, I told Charlie goodbye and that I enjoyed meeting him. He responded by telling me to never come back. I chuckled and waved at him before I stepped out onto the porch and retrieved my to-go containers for Bella.

"I'll see you in the morning, Counter Girl," I said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Dream about me again. This time, I'll be the one to show up naked."

She groaned and bit back a smile. "I should have never told you about that dream."

"I'm never going to look at that counter the same way again."

She laughed and I chuckled along with her.

I carefully backed my way off the porch. "I'm going to miss you, pretty girl. If you wake up in the middle of the night cold, call me. I'll come over and be your electric blanket."

She threw her head back and laughed, her pony tail bouncing adorably.

I laughed and waved at her before climbing into Waylon's truck. She opened the front door and looked back, waving at me one last time. I grinned and waved back then waited until she was safely back in the house before I took off.

On my way home, I stopped by the grocery store to find something for us to eat for breakfast since the diner wasn't open on Mondays. I had just gotten home when my phone chimed with a text from Emmett.

_**She texted me, dude! She fucking texted me! Here's what she said: "Leave me the fuck alone." Em**_

I read his words and thought for a second that I'd read them wrong so I reread them again and cracked the hell up. He seemed so happy that she texted him. How could he be happy with that kind of response? Before I could text back, he texted me again.

_**What should I say? Em**_

I had to sit and think for a minute because Rosie had me stumped.

_**Maybe try: Your smile brings me to my knees… Ed**_

_**Holy shit! I like that. It's all romantic and shit and girls dig that. What if she responds? Em**_

_**Don't respond until tomorrow. Let me know what she says. Ed**_

Later that night, I lay in bed for a while thinking. Bella's "baggage" had become apparent. I couldn't imagine how hard it'd been on her dealing with Charlie on a day-to-day basis. The man needed a swift kick to the ass. Yes, he was disabled and had been through a lot, but his behavior towards her was reprehensible, borderline abusive. Maybe she would be better off putting him in a nursing home.

I finally fell asleep but didn't sleep well. I couldn't seem to be able to turn my thoughts off. I got up the next morning and made our breakfast. I did a taste test and shocked the hell out of myself that I could actually cook something. Pleased with my newfound chef skills and hoping to impress Bella, I stowed my things in the truck and headed out, hanging my head out the window.

My heart reacted once again as I pulled into the empty parking lot. I grinned when Bella smiled brightly and waved at me through the window. She looked so happy to see me. I grabbed my basket, opened the door, and walked towards her. A thrill shot through my body when I saw the rose I gave her sitting on the counter. I couldn't believe she brought it to work with her. It made me supremely happy.

"Good morning, gorgeous," I said as I set my basket down and slipped behind the counter. I grabbed her hand and twisted her around like a ballerina. She laughed her eyes a rich coffee color so full of warmth and excitement.

"I like this," I said tugging on her elbow my eyes sliding down her curvaceous body. She wore a long-sleeved cream colored sweater with a pair of tight jeans that outlined every dip and curve. I liked everything about her.

We sat down on our stools facing each other our knees lightly touching. I tried so hard to focus on her beautiful face, but my stomach twisted when my eyes were drawn to that stupid door to the garage. I bristled as sparks of jealousy started to seep into my veins. I seemed to have absolutely no control of myself when it came to her and that damn mechanic.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked, touching my hand lightly.

My eyes met hers. I frowned, my lips thinning. "Can he hear us back there?" I asked about as irritable as a hungry grizzly.

"No, he's working on a car right now. It's really loud back there."

"Sorry, but I needed to know," I said with a pout, taking her hand in mine.

"I understand."

"I hate him. I still hate him. I will _always _hate him," I said before I increased the volume on my voice, "and I hope he hears that."

She laughed like she found me to be quite the jester. I didn't think it was funny.

"You're so cute," she said between giggles.

"_Cute?"_ I repeated my hands going to her sides and tickling her. I laughed when she squealed and screeched at the top of her lungs and tried to wriggle away from me. I trapped her against the counter with my body, my hands on both sides of her, caging her in.

"I am not cute, Counter Girl. You need to work on your adjectives. I'm manly, hunky, sexy. Oh, and very kissable…" I said leering towards her with my lips puckered.

She howled and pushed my face away. "Egomaniac," she said, grinning crazily at me.

"It's called self-confidence, baby. And I've got loads of it."

She barked out a laugh. "You're impossible."

"And yet you still like me."

I let her go and pulled the basket towards the edge of the counter. "Wait until you see what I've brought you, pretty girl. You're going to want to throw me on this counter and molest my person," I said, bouncing my eyebrows up and down at her.

She giggled. "You'd like that wouldn't you?"

"It would be a dream come true…"

"Something does smells amazing," she said, touching my basket and trying to peek in. I batted her hands away.

"I actually cooked and didn't burn my house down. I should've gone to culinary school. Chef Cullen has a nice ring to it, don't you think?"

She giggled. "Yes, Chef Stud. Now what did you make?"

I opened the basket and used a towel to pull out the still hot pan. "Voila! Cinnamon rolls!"

"Oh my god, that looks _so_ good," she gushed.

"You want me now, don't you? Feel free to start tearing my clothes off."

She laughed and ignored me as her little fingers tried to steal a piece. I had to smack her hands away again.

"Did you know they have these blue tubes that you pop open and all you have to do is stick the gunk in the oven?"

"The 'gunk'?" she repeated laughter bubbling from her like little bells ringing. She laughed until she had tears in her eyes.

"It scared the hell out of me when the thing popped open and stuff started growing out of it."

She laughed again, wiping at her eyes. "Yeah, it is a little spooky."

I pulled out a set of forks and knives, a half-gallon of milk, two cups, and a roll of paper towels. I handed her a fork and poured our drinks.

"I thought we could just eat out of the pan if you don't mind."

She grinned and dug in, getting out a huge forkful with icing dripping off the edges. Closing her eyes, she slowly took the bite into her mouth and damn if she didn't let out the sexiest moan I'd ever heard. My dick went from worm to King Cobra in two seconds flat. Icing clung to the corners of her mouth and I had to grip the edge of the counter with both hands to keep myself from jumping on her and cleaning her sugary mouth with my tongue.

I closed my eyes and tried to focus on Waylon's stinky, hairy feet and sure enough that did the trick. But it also made me want to ralph. I bit down a gag and took a quick drink of milk before clearing my throat. I needed a distraction. "So," I said, "tell me some more about your dad."

She wiped her mouth with her napkin and breathed a heavy sigh. "I don't know. It's like he's just lost or something. He's given up on living. The doctor's told me that he could be up and walking with a walker by now, but he won't even try. I've taken him to appointment after appointment for physical therapy and speech therapy but he refuses to cooperate. I don't know how to help him anymore."

"What was he like before the stroke?" I asked, digging into the pan with my fork.

"He was good. He'd had problems with depression. He was involved with a woman about five years ago. She died of cancer and he took it really hard. But he had started dating again and seemed happy for the first time in a long time. Then the stroke happened. His relationship with Sue – that's her name – it, well, it's not good. She's a nurse and wanted to help take care of him, but he refused. He yelled at her that he didn't want her help and told her to pack her stuff."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"So why did he throw that plate of food last night?"

She set her fork down. "You really want to know?"

"Of course. I want to know everything about you."

She stared at me for a long moment before she sighed softly. "He wanted meatballs."

"He's on a special diet?"

"Yes, low fat. He hates it and takes it out on me."

I stared at the cinnamon rolls for a second, trying to get my words right. "How many plates has he thrown?" I asked softly, remembering what that wall looked like.

"A lot," she said, her eyes dropping to the counter.

I grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently. "I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but I need to say something."

She looked up, her weary eyes meeting mine before she nodded.

"I know he's your dad and that you love him and want to take care of him, but the way he's treating you? It's wrong. You don't deserve that."

"I know, but what am I supposed to do? Just leave him?"

"Who stays with him during the day?"

"Our neighbor Mrs. Cope comes over on weekdays. She's widowed and doesn't have any children so she's kind of adopted us. Dad… well, he's civil to her at least. We also have a skilled nurse that comes by, but…" she said before she stopped abruptly.

"What?"

She shook her head. "Nothing."

I vowed right then and there that I would somehow help Bella with Charlie. I didn't know exactly how I would accomplish it, but I'd figure it out. I would step up and be the man that she needed. Someone strong and caring and sincere. Someone that she could lean on or someone who would just hold her hand when things got tough. I'd give her whatever she needed.

"Come here," I said, tugging her off of her stool and pulling her between my legs. I pulled her close and stared into her eyes. "Coming to Forks is the best thing that's ever happened to me. And it's because of you."

She smiled the most delightful smile before she wrapped her arms around me. "I think you may be the best thing that's ever happened to me, too," she whispered against my chest.

And that's when I knew.

I was in love with her.

My Counter Girl, Bella Swan.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I'm back! And superfast! I love my readers. Thank you for the lovely reviews. ;))) **

**And thanks to my girls!**

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 12**_

"Try your door," Waylon said with a nod and a grin so big that his eyes disappeared into his wrinkled face.

"You fixed my door?" I asked truly surprised. I pulled on the handle to my old Volvo and it easily opened. I chuckled totally blown away by Waylon's skills.

"Yep. It was an easy fix," he said still smiling proudly.

"Waylon, you're the man. I can't thank you enough," I said as I stuck my hand in my jeans and pulled out a hundred dollar bill. "I know this isn't much but hopefully it'll help."

"Oh, no, son," he said with a twitch, holding his hands up in the air. "I told ya I'd do it for free and I meant it."

"I'm going to feel terribly guilty if you don't take this."

"How about we go bowling again. You can buy me some more beer."

I really wanted him to take the money; he deserved it. But I could tell I would not win this battle so I grinned and shoved the money back into my pocket and held my hand out. "You've got a deal, Waylon. Thank you," I said with sincerity as I shook hands with him. I owed him a lot of beer, maybe even a keg.

I returned the keys to the stench mobile to him and almost broke out into a little river dancing. Yeah, my Volvo had 295,000 miles on it and I paid a whopping five hundred bucks for it, but at least I could breathe while behind the wheel.

We said our goodbyes and I headed back into the house. I fixed myself a turkey sandwich and propped my feet up on the table and thought about my morning with Bella. After we each polished off a cinnamon roll and a half, the UPS guy had shown up with my starter. Then some old woman dropped her car off to have work done on it and sat in the waiting area – which happened to be about twenty feet from the counter – rudely staring at us. Honest to god, she barely even blinked.

So Bella and I had to whisper to talk to each other. And Bella's whispering gave me a raging hard-on. She would grab my shirt and pull my head down, her warm, luscious lips brushing against my ear. I hoped she couldn't see how much she affected me. Good god, I needed sex. With Bella. A _lot _of sex with Bella. I was so horny I could've gotten wood from staring at a cactus plant.

Bella got the giggles when I whispered to her that we needed to give the old lady a show and make out like crazy fools. I felt confident that we could send the nosy old fart off to the hospital with maybe an angina attack or something and be able to continue our date in peace.

But of course Bella wouldn't make out with me so our breakfast date got cut short. I asked her when I could see her again, and she said she needed to leave early to take Charlie to a doctor's appointment but that I could come back in the morning. And that I _had_ to bring the cinnamon rolls with me.

Smiling, I pulled out my phone and sent her a text.

_**So you only want me for my hot buns? E**_

She texted back a few minutes later.

_**Yes, I love your hot buns. ;) B**_

_**You have my permission to touch my hot buns whenever you want. ;) E**_

_**LOL! I'll keep that in mind. B**_

I chuckled and stared at the phone for a minute, my expression growing serious as I wondered about Charlie's mood today.

_**So how did the appointment go? E**_

_**Difficult as usual. B**_

_**Do you need any help this evening? I can be there in five. ;) E**_

_**No, we're good. But thank you, Edward. B**_

_**Are you sure? I want to help. I like being needed. ;) E**_

_**Did you know you're one of the sweetest and most thoughtful guys I've ever met? ;) B**_

I smiled and quickly typed a response.

_**Your compliments are feeding my ego, Counter Girl. ;) E**_

_**I know but I'm only telling the truth. ;) B**_

_**I like you too, Counter Girl, I like you a lot. ;) E**_

_**Can't stop smiling over here. ;)) B**_

_**I cherish your smiles… I'll see you in the morning, pretty girl. Dream about me. ;) E**_

_**I will. ;) Goodnight, Edward. B**_

_**Goodnight, Bella. E**_

I tossed my phone on the table and stretched my arms over my head a warm, contented feeling spreading throughout my body. I breathed a heavy sigh unable to wipe the grin off of my face. Bella made me happy. I'd definitely never felt this way about a woman before. Love was something I didn't have a lot of experience with so these new feelings that were spiraling through me were new and exciting.

Half an hour later Emmett called. I guess Rose responded to his text and told him to fuck off again. I told him to send her another text and gave him a few suggestions. I laughed when he got all excited and wrote all of them down. The poor guy talked for an hour. He told me why Billy Black had him by the balls. I guess Emmett had bad credit because of a failed business and Billy loaned him the money for the bar. I felt bad for the guy.

I went to bed and slept like a baby. I woke up disappointed when I couldn't remember any of my dreams. I was hoping that a very naked, horny, and desperate for me Bella would make an appearance. But I also knew that not remembering my dreams was probably a good thing considering the nightmares I'd been having recently.

With a bounce in my step, I hopped in the shower and performed some self-love on myself to images of Bella bent over that counter. At one point, I dropped the soap and slipped and almost ripped the shower curtain off of the rod.

I fussed with my damp hair, but it refused to cooperate. I gave up and ran my fingers through it. I couldn't wait to see Bella. I packed up the leftover cinnamon rolls and stepped outside but immediately stopped. Looking up at the sky, I grinned as big, huge snowflakes landed on my face. My door opened like a dream. Grinning, I placed my hands on the steering wheel and closed my eyes, breathing in a huge lung full of air through my nostrils. "Ah…" I said with a smile. All I smelled was musty old leather and rust. No more fish carcass scent.

I flipped on the windshield wipers and frowned. Nothing happened. I flipped it again and still got nothing. I turned the lever, pushed it up and down, and did everything I could think of to try to get the stupid switch to work with no success. I yelled out a long string of obscenities while I dug around under the seats and found my window scraper. I hopped out of the car and quickly wiped the snow off of the windshield. I couldn't believe that I might have to hang my head out the window again. I was going to have to change my name to Jack Frost.

I dug a beanie out of my pocket and crammed it on my head. The snow really started coming down and I had to pull into Swan's parking lot to wipe off my white-covered window.

Somehow I made it to work unscathed. The diner vibrated with activity. I guess being closed on Mondays helped bring in more business on Tuesday's. I greeted everyone, shaking their hands and said a quick hello to Jessica. She had that "look" again like she wanted to eat me or something which left me a little nauseated.

I made my way to the kitchen to see what Jasper had cooked up for breakfast but I stopped short. He stood there like a statue not moving with a disoriented look on his face. I quickly approached him.

"Jasper? Are you okay?" I asked, touching him on the arm.

His started eyes looked in my direction, but I could tell he didn't recognize me. A sick feeling settled in my stomach. I grabbed a chair. "Hey, sit down here for a minute," I said as I took his arm and helped him sit. "Are you okay, buddy? How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

He continued to stare at me like he'd never seen me before. "Do you remember me?" I asked as I whipped out my phone to call 911. "It's Edward. Remember? I own the diner." I pointed to my picture on the cabinet.

He turned his head and stared at it for a second. I literally had my finger on the "9" button when I heard him speak. "Oh yes. Edward. I remember now."

I blew out a heavy breath. "That's right. It's Edward. What's going on, Jasper?"

He looked around the kitchen and back at me. "I don't know. I couldn't remember something... I don't know what I was looking for."

I quickly looked at his preparations sitting on the counter. "Well, it looks like you were chopping up some veggies and maybe getting ready to make some biscuits or something."

He looked around at the counters and stared at the cooktop that had bacon, eggs, and sausage sizzling on it. He looked back at me and shook his head.

"That's okay," I said. "We all forget things sometimes. Do you feel okay? Should I call an ambulance?"

"I feel good."

I stared at him for a long moment, trying to figure out what to do. "I'm going to call Alice. I just want to make sure that I'm making the right decision, okay?"

He nodded and started to stand up. I grabbed his arm and eased him back onto his seat and asked him to wait until I called her. I quickly dialed their home number. "Yes?" a gruff voice answered.

"Good morning, Alice, this is Edward. Hey, I found Jasper in the kitchen a few minutes ago disoriented. I don't think he recognized me or knew where he was at. He says he's okay now but I wanted to check with you. Should I call an ambulance and have him checked out?"

Alice cleared her throat roughly. "No, don't be calling nobody. He's fine. Just forgetful."

"Are you sure?" I asked her as I continued staring intently at Jasper.

"Yes, I said he's fine. I have to go."

I sighed heavily and stuck my phone back in my pocket. I bent down on my knees and studied Jasper's face. "Are you sure you're okay, Jasper? I'm really worried about you."

He smiled and nodded, adjusting his black-rimmed glasses. "Yes, son. I'm fine."

"What's my name?"

His brows creased slightly before he turned searching out my photo ID taped to the cabinet. "Edward," he said with a grin. "Your name is Edward."

I clapped him on the shoulder. "Okay, but I'm going to keep an eye on you, all right?"

He grinned and nodded. I hollered at Jessica and had her bring him a glass of ice water.

Not calling 911 bothered me. Plus I didn't know how to take Alice's response. Her gruffness confused me. Did she not care about him? Or was this just an "episode" and something that happened to him periodically? I didn't know. I thought maybe money could have also been an issue. The diner did not have good health insurance. The deductible was sky high and a trip to the ER would have been a huge chunk of change. Either way, I didn't feel comfortable leaving Jasper by himself so I brought my laptop into the kitchen. I told Jasper I had some work to do but that I wanted to hang out with him until Alice arrived.

I pretended to work but kept my eyes trained on him. He seemed like his normal self again. He kept the food flowing and didn't seem to have any residual issues.

At nine forty-five, the doors to the kitchen swung open and Alice shuffled her way in. I snapped my laptop closed and stood. "Good morning."

She grunted and nodded at me before her eyes darted to Jasper. I could see the worry, the concern. And more than anything, the love. She felt for him a lot more than she let on. "You were right, Alice," I said softly. "Jasper seems to be doing just fine."

Our eyes met and she nodded before quickly looking back at Jasper. I picked up my laptop and pushed on the swinging doors but stopped for just a second and looked back. They were standing face to face their hands clasped between them. I smiled and ducked my head down leaving them to their private moment.

As soon as I stepped back into the dining area, I got clobbered. Everybody wanted to talk. Ben and Aro cornered me and Waylon wanted to discuss everything he did to my car so I ended up running late for our breakfast date. When I got outside, all I could do was laugh when I saw how hard the snow was coming down. I climbed into my car and pulled out my phone and sent Bella a quick text.

_**Sorry, pretty girl, but I'm running a little late. Apparently, I'm Mr. Popular. ;) I'll be there in a minute. E**_

_**No problem. See you soon. B**_

I cleared the windshield off and by the time I got to Swan's, it was completely covered again. I had to hang my head out the window in order to pull into a parking space and not crash into Swan's huge glass windows. Laughing, I rolled up my window. I could not believe the bad luck I was having with vehicles. I grabbed the cinnamon buns and climbed out of the car. Bella looked surprised but laughed and waved at me. We both grinned madly at each other as I walked towards her.

"Happy to have your Volvo back?" she asked with a big smile.

"Oh yeah. I think the fumes from Waylon's truck were starting to turn my skin a weird green color."

She threw her head back and laughed.

"Did you see my wipers aren't working? I'm going to have to hang my head out the window again like Fido."

She laughed heartily. "I wondered what was going on."

I chuckled as I set my basket down. I slipped my leather jacket and beanie off and messed with my hair for a second before I stepped behind the counter. I eyed her from head to toe. She looked so cute in her blue plaid shirt and little black boots. I reached for her hand and pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly. She melted into my body. We were a perfect fit.

"Mmm… Counter Girl," I hummed against her sweet smelling hair. "I needed to see you."

She pulled back slightly so she could look up into my eyes. Her lashes were long and thick framing her big brown eyes so perfectly. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "Jasper had an episode. It scared the hell out of me."

"What do you mean?"

"He just kind of zoned out and didn't know where he was for a minute. He didn't even recognize me."

"I know he has memory problems. I don't think anyone really knows what's going on with him, though. Like if it's Alzheimer's or not."

I reluctantly let go of her and we both sat down our knees bumping. I kept her hands in mine and felt something on her finger. I looked down, my brows furrowed. She had a ring on her index finger that I'd never seen before. The silver band had "love" written on it in cursive. I felt a darkness come over me. Did douchebag give it to her? I swallowed hard. If he did, I was going to carefully slip it off her finger and flush it down the toilet.

I stared at the ring. "Who gave this to you?" I asked quietly, my eyes lifting to hers.

She smiled at me like she could read my mind. "No one. I liked it so I bought it."

I blew out a heavy breath.

She leaned closer. "Were you thinking bad thoughts?" she whispered teasingly.

"Yes. It involved flushing and a toilet."

A string of delightful giggles escaped her and I found myself chuckling along with her. I stared back down at the ring, running my thumb over the letters. "So, have you ever been in love before?"

"Yes," she responded immediately a soft smile on her lips.

I frowned. "You're supposed to say no."

She laughed. "I would never lie to you, Edward. Yes, I've been in love. But so have you, right?"

"No."

Her brows creased and her mouth parted slightly. "You've never been in love?"

"No. I've been in like and I've definitely been in lust, but never love."

She scooted closer to me. "But Edward, how is that possible? You have so much love to give. I can see it."

"I only want _you_ to see it."

Her little hand reached up and cradled my jaw. I leaned into her. "You have this light inside of you that just shines," she said softly. "You're so beautiful on the inside and out. Why haven't you ever shared this part of yourself with someone?"

"I guess I was waiting on you."

I thought for a moment that I'd laid it on too thick, but she smiled and stared down at our clasped hands for a moment. She looked up and I could see a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Always the charmer."

"You know it," I said with a wink.

But then I remembered something. "Oh, wait I forgot," I said. "I have been in love before. With Miss Burrito."

"Miss Burrito?" she repeated with a laugh.

"Yes, Miss Burrito, my third grade teacher. She was this hot Latino who wore the shortest skirts. Her last name started with a 'B' but none of us could pronounce it so we dubbed her Miss Burrito."

Bella laughed until she doubled over and had tears in the corners of her eyes. "That was hilarious," she said amidst another round of adorable giggles.

I laughed loudly. "Are you jealous? Admit it, pretty girl, you're insanely jealous of Miss Burrito."

"I am _so_ jealous," she said with a laugh her warm, dark eyes all sunny and her cheeks the prettiest rose color from all the laughter.

"So how many times have you been in love, Counter Girl? And be gentle. My heart is fragile."

She smiled. "I've been in love a couple of times."

"A couple, huh? How's your math? Do you mean like twice, or like five or six times?"

She laughed. "Twice."

"Jacob and…?" I hated speaking that dick wad's name. My mouth felt like I'd just chewed on some rusty nails.

"Some guy in college."

"What happened?"

"He lived in New York. I lived here. It would have never worked out."

"Are you still in love with him?"

"No, I'm not. It's just as easy to fall _out_ of love, Edward, as it is to fall _in_ love."

"What about Jacob?"

"Hey, I'm feeling cornered here," she said with a laugh. "I think it's my turn to ask some questions."

"I have no secrets, pretty girl," I said with a smile, squeezing her hands lightly. "What do you want to know?"

She stared at me for a long moment. "So how many hearts have you broken, Edward?"

"Um… a couple."

She laughed. "And how's _your_ math?"

"Okay, maybe a dozen or so."

"That's what I thought."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're so likeable and infectious and incredibly handsome and-"

I barked out a loud laugh. "Hold on, pretty girl. Sounds like you've got it bad for me."

"Edward, I don't want to get my heart broken again."

"Oh, I know, pretty girl. Your heart is perfectly safe with me. I'm no longer in the heart breaking business. I quit that job the moment I laid eyes on you."

The phone on the counter rang startling the both of us. Bella excused herself and took the call, which turned into two more calls. Shortly after that, a tow truck showed up. Someone's car had broken down and they had to have it towed to the shop. So a young woman and her child sat down in the waiting area to wait on their car, and once again, our date got cut short.

I grabbed Bella's hand. "Can I come see you and Charlie tonight?" I whispered.

She thought for a moment and then smiled. "Sure, that'd be nice."

I rubbed my thumb along the center of her palm. "Six-thirty?"

She nodded, licking her lips as she stared at my mouth. Oh yeah, she wanted to kiss me. I licked my lips, getting them all wet hoping they'd look tempting to her.

"I'll bring food," I whispered. "What can Charlie eat?"

"I'll just fix him something at home."

We whispered our goodbyes, and I loved the way she longingly stared at my mouth. Maybe I could get a kiss out of her soon. I left her the cinnamon rolls and headed back to the diner. Thankfully, the snow had stopped so I got a break. Ben, Aro, and Waylon were still bellied up to the counter. I quickly greeted everyone before I stepped back into the kitchen. I grinned when I saw Jasper sitting in a chair next to Alice. He should have been gone by now. Guess Alice wanted to keep him close.

I sat down at the counter with the guys and ate lunch with them. I mentioned my wipers not working to Waylon, and all four of us went outside to look at my car. Ben and Aro didn't know anything about cars, but they loved to talk. Waylon said I probably needed a new motor for it, and of course he offered to fix it for me for free. I asked him when we were going to go bowling again. I needed to get started on the beer repayment program. He mentioned Friday and I told him it was a date.

The afternoon went by fast. I had Alice pack me up some meatloaf and mashed potatoes along with a giant piece of carrot cake. I closed up the diner and stopped by the bank to make a deposit before heading to Bella's.

As I approached her house, I slowed down, my brows furrowed. A black Mercedes sat in her driveway. I recognized that Mercedes. I saw that same Mercedes sitting in the parking lot of Swan Automotive when Jacob was there. I swallowed hard, my stomach tightening.

I turned the car off and sat in the dark, staring at her house. My heart raced and I had a hard time breathing. It felt like the onset of a panic attack.

Jacob Black was in Bella's house.

Why?

I knew why. He found out what went down in Seattle. All he needed was an internet connection.

Swallowing hard, I rubbed the back of my neck and stepped out of the car. I left the food and slowly made my way up the steps to Bella's porch. I tried to calm my racing heart, but I seemed to have no control over it. Taking in a deep breath, I knocked lightly.

A moment later, Bella opened the door. Her dark eyes stood out in her pale face, and she had a large manila envelope in her hands. My eyes shifted over Bella's shoulder, and I could see Jacob standing in the living room, his arms crossed over his chest, a big, shit-eating grin on his face. A wave of nausea swept over me. Bella closed the door and stepped out onto the porch.

"I'm innocent, Bella. I did nothing wrong."

Bella handed me the envelope. "I haven't read any of this other than the headline. And I'm not going to read any of it. I want to hear it from you. I want _you_ to tell me what happened."

"I will, Bella. I'll tell you right now if you want. Or I can come over when… _he_…" I said, looking over her shoulder at the door, "… leaves."

She shook her head. "I don't want Charlie to hear. Come by the store in the morning. That way we can have some privacy."

I didn't want to wait that long. Plus, what if we got interrupted again?

I shoved my hands in my pockets. "Okay. Just remember, I'm the same guy as this morning. The one that made you laugh. Nothing's changed."

She nodded but her expression remained grave. "I'll see you in the morning," she said softly.

And I watched as she disappeared into the house, closing the door quietly behind her.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hello, my beautiful readers. I'm going on vacation next week so give me a little extra time to write the next chapter. Hopefully, this one will tide you over until then. ;) Leave me a review and let me know what you think of these two. ;) I love hearing your words.**

**My pre-readers Lfcpam, JayNahNah, and betsmecullen are amazing and give me great feedback. And my beta, Halo221, worked extra hard on this chapter. She's incredible. Thank you, ladies.**

**TRIGGER WARNING: This chapter contains a sexual assault accusation. **

**SM owns Twilight.**

* * *

_**COUNTER ASSAULT**_

_**CHAPTER 13**_

Heaving a sigh, I bounced a rubber ball against my living room wall again and caught it. I think I'd thrown that damn thing like a thousand times, but I had nothing better to do. I'd already tried watching TV and playing some _Gears of War_, but nothing held my attention. Although, _Gears_ wasn't too bad. Every time I blew somebody's head off, I visualized Jacob's ugly mug.

My eyes moved to the clock again and I groaned. This night was never going to end.

I should have known that Jacob would Google me. Of course he would try to dig up any and all dirt on me to discredit me and make Bella doubt my character. What a pencil dick. I hated that stupid prick. Yes, I should have told Bella about what happened in Seattle, but it wasn't something that came up in casual conversation. And I certainly did not like talking about it.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I threw my head back against the couch and groaned again. I could not stop my racing thoughts. Question after question bombarded my brain. How long did Jacob stay? What garbage did he say about me? What else did they talk about? Does she want him back? I moaned a little and stretched out on the couch, rubbing the center of my aching chest. I hated having this "thing" between me and Bella. I just wanted to go over to her house, bang on her door, and make her listen to me so that we could get past this and get back to the way we were before.

With another heavy sigh, I picked up my beer off of the coffee table and took another swig before I grabbed my phone. I clicked on our texts and quickly re-read all of them. I loved our banter. I enjoyed nothing more than flirting and teasing her. I stared at the phone for a minute and typed out several texts to her:

_**Are you awake? I miss you. Can I come over? E**_

_**Can we meet over at Swan's in five minutes? E**_

_**You're beautiful and I think I'm in love with you... E**_

But I erased them all.

I finally fell asleep on the couch around four a.m. and woke up in a sweat an hour later. I gave up and decided to go to the diner early that way I could keep an eye on Jasper and hopefully it would make the time go faster.

After a long, hot shower, I made my way out to the Volvo. About two inches of snow had fallen during the night so I had to scrape the windows off, but thankfully, the snow had tapered off. The white-covered roads were empty so I stopped and stared at Swan's dark windows for a moment. I swallowed hard, a heavy, unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach.

As I approached the diner, it looked odd in the dark, smaller than normal and like it'd been deserted for years. Guess I was accustomed to the place being all lit up, packed with people, and humming with activity. I unlocked the front door and flipped on the lights before heading back to my office. I sent off a few emails and heard movement in the kitchen.

"Hey, Jasper," I said. "I couldn't sleep so I decided to come in early."

"Good morning, son," he said with a grin.

"Good morning to you too. You can call me Runt today if you want," I said and we both laughed.

"Hey, do you need any help this morning? I really don't have anything to do right now. I could be your Padawan."

His shaggy white eyebrows furrowed behind his Scorsese glasses.

Guess he'd never seen Star Wars.

"Apprentice?"

"Oh, okay," he said smiling and nodding.

So Jasper showed me the proper technique to cut up a green pepper. I'd never wielded a knife in the kitchen before. It took me fifteen minutes to cut one pepper and the knife slipped and I almost chopped my finger off. Okay, I may have exaggerated a little, but the small cut did produce a lot of blood so I had to utilize the first-aid kit.

Tanya came in and Jasper kept me company, but my eyes stayed glued to the clock. Would ten o'clock ever get here?

I downed three cups of coffee and skipped breakfast. I just didn't feel like eating. And I totally lost my appetite when Aro, Ben, and Waylon showed up and started talking. Their topic of conversation? Colonoscopies. I covered my ears and begged them to talk about cars or bowling or pie. I even offered them free pie for life but they completely ignored me and carried on about bowels, cameras, and flexible tubing.

When Waylon started talking about his hemorrhoids, I split. I mean I vanished like I'd just been raptured. I ran from the dining room to the kitchen in one and a half steps and crashed so hard through the swinging doors that they swung back and smacked me on the ass.

I hid in the kitchen with Jasper for a while and watched him cook. Alice hadn't arrived yet. I talked about nonsense like the weather and how my windshield wipers weren't working, but mainly I watched the clock. Around nine, I started pacing the floors and wiping my sweaty hands on my jeans. And on top of that, I couldn't stop overthinking everything. Would Bella look at me differently after I told her? Like everyone else did? Would she even believe me? Of course, she would believe me. I _knew_ Bella or at least I _felt _like I knew her. She would never judge me… and I was officially driving myself crazy.

Alice came in with her usual huffing and puffing and booted me out of the kitchen. The kitchen really was too small for the three of us so I ducked into my office for a bit. When nine forty-five arrived, my heart started pounding and my mouth felt dry. I asked Alice to pack me up some biscuits and gravy for Bella, and when I reached for the container, I dropped it on the floor and gravy splattered all over my black Converse. I couldn't believe it. So Alice had to make me another, and I spent the next ten minutes scraping gravy off of my shoes.

When I finally pulled into Swan's parking lot, I blew out a heavy breath and tried to get my heart under control. Bella had already arrived and stood behind the counter, but that beautiful "I'm so happy to see you" expression that she usually wore for me was gone, replaced with a worried look. I wanted more than anything to put that smile that I loved so much back on her lovely face again.

Swallowing hard, I opened the door and walked towards her. Her eyes were cautious, guarded.

I quickly set the food down. "Hey," I said as I slipped off my jacket and stepped behind the counter.

"Hi," she said softly.

"I brought breakfast in case you're hungry."

"Oh, thank you," she said with a small smile.

Immediately, I noticed the dark, puffy bags under her eyes. I wanted to touch her, pull her into my arms, but knew I couldn't. At least not right now. "You look tired," I said softly, "but still beautiful."

"Thank you. I didn't sleep well."

"I didn't either. Last night was rough on me."

"Me too."

We both sat down and I made sure to pull my stool close to hers. She looked so pretty with her hair pulled up in a ponytail. I liked the small, heart-shaped earrings she had in her ears. Out of habit, I started to reach for her hands but my heart sunk when she slipped them into the pockets of her hoodie.

I roughly cleared my throat and scratched the back of my neck. "I'm nervous as hell right now," I said with a chuckle. "I felt like I was going to hyperventilate on the way over here. Do you have some paper bags handy?"

"It's okay. You don't have to be nervous. It's just me."

"I don't know what my problem is. I think it's because I've never really told anyone what happened other than the people that were involved."

"I understand," she said. "Take your time."

I stared at her for a moment. "Wow, I don't even know where to start… um… remember I told you that I worked at the high school? As the baseball coach?"

"Yes."

"Well, one night after a game, I stayed over. I needed to clean the locker room. The guys were filthy pigs," I said shaking my head and smiling a little.

My gaze dropped to my hands in my lap, my expression growing serious. "You know, I've wondered so many times what would have happened if I hadn't stayed over that night…" I said before sighing heavily.

"Anyway, I was by myself and… a female student came in. She, well, she tried to put the moves on me, but I stopped it immediately. I reminded her that I was the coach and she was a student and that her behavior was unacceptable. She got very angry, and I got out of there fast.

"She started a rumor around school that we'd slept together. Then the next thing I knew, the cops were on my doorstep, asking me to come in for questioning regarding a... rape."

"Oh no," Bella said, her eyes wide.

"Yeah…" I said, looking down at my hands again. "There was an investigation but not enough evidence for a criminal trial because _nothing happened_," I said overemphasizing the words before looking up and locking eyes with Bella. "I was completely innocent. Nothing happened in that locker room. But the girl's parents refused to believe that their daughter could have lied about something like that so… they proceeded with a civil suit."

"Oh my god, Edward…"

"Yeah, it was rough. I won the case, of course, but afterward? I lost friends. I lost my job. I had to drain my savings to cover the attorney's fees. I'd inherited some money from my grandparent's estate, but I blew through that fast."

"That's awful," she said, reaching for my hands and clasping them in hers. I squeezed her hands gently, the corners of my mouth turning upwards as a big wave of relief washed over me. She'd accepted me back.

"It _was _awful. I eventually had to sell my apartment and then… well, my Beemer got repossessed. That one hurt the most. I miss that damn car. I'll have to show you a picture of her sometime. Her name was Roxanne."

"Edward…" Bella spoke softly, tears in her eyes as she reached up and touched my cheek. I scooted closer to her our knees rubbing against each other. I needed her comfort, her closeness. "When did this happen?"

"About a year ago."

"I can't even imagine going through something like that. How did it not wreck you, change you? You're so happy all of the time…"

"Well, I've always had a positive outlook on life so that helps, but believe me, it's not been easy. I've struggled and had my moments. After I lost my apartment, I moved in with my best friend and lived on her couch for a while. I only got up to eat and take a piss. I hadn't showered or shaved for like two weeks. You should have seen my beard. Actually it was kind of spectacular. You don't happen to have a thing for beards, do you?" I asked, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

"Edward, quit making light of this. What you went through is heart wrenching."

"Yeah, but it didn't kill me, Bella. It happened. And guess what? I couldn't do a damn thing about it. I just had to roll with the punches and make the most of what I've got. I've tried really hard to not let what happened to me define who I am today. I lost some money… okay, a lot of money and my name got dragged through the mud, but I'm still alive. I still have my life to live. My life didn't stop the day I got the summons to show up in court."

"I know. I'm sorry. That's not what I meant."

I smiled and reached up and tucked some hair behind her ear. "Don't apologize, pretty girl. I know that's not what you meant. It's just that I got to a point where I was totally disgusted with myself. I hit rock bottom. Or I should say I slammed into rock bottom. And I came to the conclusion that I could spend the rest of my life having a pity party for myself and harbor all these bitter feelings towards the girl, or I could forgive her. So I forgave her. And that made things easier. Do I still get discouraged? Yes. Do I sometimes wish she'd fall off a cliff? Most definitely."

Bella reached up and touched my cheek. "You're an extraordinary man, Edward."

I loved her words. It made my head puff up. I felt like I could slay dragons for her. "I have lots of flaws, Counter Girl, but I hope you never see them."

"So what happened to the girl?"

"I'm not really sure and I honestly hope I never see her again. They moved out of state somewhere. She's a senior this year."

She nodded but I could see she had more questions. "So why did you lose your job? If you weren't found guilty?"

"They said it was due to 'cut backs', which was total bullshit. I tried fighting it for a while, but it got to the point where it wasn't worth it anymore. So I ended up having to look for a job. Every time I went on an interview, I felt like I had this huge, dark shadow following me around. I worked some awful jobs," I said with a chuckle. "I'll have to tell you about them some time."

"That's so not fair, Edward. I bet you were an amazing coach."

"I was an awesome coach. I loved it."

"I loved being a graphic artist. Guess we have a lot more in common than we thought," she said with a sad smile.

"Life sucks ass sometimes, doesn't it?"

She laughed. "Yes, it does."

I gently squeezed her hands. "I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you what happened before now. I _hate_ that Jacob was the one to tell you, but how do you tell someone something like that? 'Uh, hey Bella. I was accused of rape once. Want to hear the story'?"

"It's okay. I totally understand."

"And thank you for not reading those awful newspaper articles Jacob gave you. They were full of lies."

"Of course. That's why I wanted to hear it from you. I actually asked Jacob to show me your background check. I needed to know… if you'd been convicted or not."

I nodded.

"Jacob had to admit you weren't even tried in criminal court, so I knew there was more to the story and that he just wanted to make you look bad. Plus I wouldn't be here alone with you if I thought for a second you could have done something like that."

I swallowed hard. "Thank you," I whispered before clearing from my throat. "Thank you for trusting in me."

Smiling, she nodded and squeezed my hands.

I took in a deep breath, bracing myself for my next question. "So what else did Jacob say about me?"

She sighed heavily, a weary expression crossing her beautiful features. "Listen, I need to talk to you about something."

I could feel myself bristling. "What do you mean? What did he say?"

"He wants me to go to counseling with him."

"What the hell? Is he crazy? He cheated on you."

"I know. He thinks that if I go to counseling, I'll be able to forgive him."

"What did you say?"

"I told him to go to hell."

Oh, how I loved her. I wanted to jump up and shake my ass. Instead, I lifted her hand and kissed her knuckles. "You're an extraordinary woman, Bella Swan," I said grinning and mimicking her words, but she didn't grin back. So my grin immediately turned into a frown. "What's wrong?"

"He… I don't know. He just said a bunch of stuff that made me feel guilty."

"What do you mean?"

"He said I owed him one more chance and how could I just throw away all of the years we've had together over one small indiscretion."

That dumb knucklehead. I still didn't know all the details of what Jacob did to her, but I knew enough. "_He's_ the one that cheated, Bella, not you. _He's_ the one that threw it all away."

"I know and I agree with you. It's just that he kept going on about what kind of person was I that I wouldn't give him one more opportunity… and then he started harping on forgiveness. How could I not forgive him when he was so sorry and willing to go to counseling?"

"You can forgive him, but not get back together with him. There's a huge difference."

Bella sighed heavily and nodded. "Yeah, I've definitely not forgiven him yet, and right now, I don't want to forgive him. I know that sounds terrible, but that's how I feel."

"Don't feel guilty about feeling that way. You're entitled to be angry at him."

She stared down at our entwined hands for a moment before looking up. "And then there's his dad…"

"What about his dad?"

She sighed heavily. "Billy, well, he… It's actually about _my_ dad."

I stared at her for a long moment before my eyes widened. "Oh, shit. Is Billy footing Charlie's bills?"

Her shoulders slumped like the weight of the world just settled on them. "I didn't know it at the time but when dad had his stroke, he had no health insurance. He'd canceled it because he couldn't afford the premiums.

"Jacob offered to help but I refused to take a dime from him. I called and made payment arrangements and started making minimum payments on the bills, and then one month… the balance was zero."

That slimy, filthy rich, flaming turd bucket. I felt like my head might explode.

"He's given them so much money over the years that his picture hangs in the lobby."

Anger spiraled through me. I tried hard not to squeeze her hands too tightly. "Is he trying to blackmail you? If he is, I swear I'll kill him with my bare hands."

"No, nothing like that. He just brought it up to layer on the guilt. But here's the thing… I _never _asked him or Billy to pay those bills. Those bills were in my dad's name, not my name so I feel like… I don't know like I don't really owe him? But then on the other hand, I feel like I have a moral obligation to pay him back. Wouldn't that be the right thing to do? But that's ridiculous because I'll never be able to pay him back, ever. I've told them thank you over and over again and what Billy did was so thoughtful and generous, but I'm just so confused. What would you do?"

Oh, I had a few ideas for her. First off, Jacob could shove that paid-in-full hospital bill up his hairy, pimple-covered ass. Secondly, I could sell the diner and write the limp dick a check. And thirdly, we could ride off into the sunset together in my thirty-year-old Volvo. But I kept my evil, slightly twisted thoughts to myself.

I stood and pulled her into my arms. "Do you still love him? Or have feelings for him?"

"Absolutely not. I can hardly stand to be in the same room with him."

I grinned big. I couldn't help myself. "Sorry, but that makes me very happy. I kind of want to pull out my phone and record the moment."

She bit back a smile and playfully slapped me on the arm.

"Ow," I said quickly hiding my enthusiasm. "Look, I understand you feel a moral obligation to pay Billy back, but did you sign a contract with Jacob or Billy?"

She shook her head.

"Can Billy take back the money if you don't do what they want you to do?"

She shook her head again.

"Then you don't owe that money, Bella, plain and simple. That money was meant for your dad. And even though my hatred for Jacob is immense and deep, what his dad did was incredibly generous. Sometimes you just have to accept gifts with a little humility and move on."

She nodded and sighed a little, playing with the strings on my hooded sweatshirt. But then the phone rang and I reluctantly let her go so she could answer it. She scheduled someone for some repair work and hung up, and I quickly tugged her back into my arms.

"Wow, we've had some heavy conversation this morning," I said with a chuckle.

"Definitely…"

I looked at the bag of food sitting on the counter. "Are you hungry?" I asked. "I brought biscuits and gravy."

"I'm starving."

"Good," I said with a grin. "But you'll have to share because I'm starving too."

"I suppose I can give you a couple of bites," she said with a teasing smile.

"How generous of you," I said with a wink. "Hey, speaking of gravy, guess what?"

"What?"

"I'm wearing gravy flavored tennis shoes."

She threw her head back and laughed, her little sounds the sweetest symphony. That smile I loved so much had returned. She laughed while I quickly told her about the gravy debacle.

"Good thing you don't have a pit bull around here or I'd be getting mauled about right now," I said with a chuckle.

She giggled and her ponytail flopped around cutely.

I smiled and sighed deeply. "It feels so good to have what happened in Seattle off of my chest. I hated having that between us."

"Me too."

I pressed her body closer to mine. "You know, when I got the call about the diner, I was sad to find out that I had a great aunt that I didn't know and that she'd passed. But I thought maybe Forks might be a new beginning for me."

Swallowing hard, I stared at her sweet lips. I wanted those lips on mine more than anything in the world. "And when I met you?" I whispered. "I now realize that all of the bad stuff I went through was part of a path. A path I was meant to take to bring me to you…"

And before I could even blink, Bella reached up around my neck and yanked my head downwards, crashing her lips against mine. I groaned as a fiery heat surged through my veins causing the very hair on my arms to stand up. I felt like I'd just been electrified, but in the best way possible. Her lips were so soft, softer and sweeter than I could have ever imagined. I pressed her back against the counter and groaned again when she parted her lips and my tongue slipped into her warm heat. I couldn't get enough of her, enough of her lips, enough of her taste, enough of her essence.

Her hands moved to my hair, tugging gently. My breathing grew ragged as I plunged my tongue into her mouth again. I kissed her back with everything I had, with all of the love that I felt for her.

And then the bell over the door rang.

It sounded like someone blew a bullhorn in my ear. I jumped back about a foot, panting heavily, my eyes wide with fear. My hands darted to my groin to cover my hard as a rock cock even though the counter kept my lower half hidden.

An older woman with unnaturally bright red hair came waddling towards us. She was about as wide as she was tall. My eyes darted to Bella and I couldn't help but grin when I saw her. Her chest heaved and her lips were pink and swelled and she had a ring of red on her skin around her mouth from my scruff. She looked like she'd been doing naughty things and I loved that _I_ was the one she'd been doing naughty things with. She smiled at me, her eyes full of mischief before she turned towards the woman.

"Hi, Miss Vicky," Bella said in a breathy voice.

"Miss Bella," the woman said curtly with a nod before she stared at me with a cold glare.

Bella touched my arm. "Edward, this is Miss Vicky," she said, her eyes dancing with laughter, but I didn't get the joke. What was so funny? "Miss Vicky, this is Edward."

I smiled politely and shook Miss Vicky's hand. She didn't say a word. She just stood there staring at me. Talk about awkward. I didn't know if I should leave or keep standing there or what, so I finally just stuffed my hands in my jeans pocket and stared back at her and her weird colored hair.

Bella finally came to my rescue. "What's wrong with your car?" Bella asked her.

Miss Vicky started prattling on about some "clunking" sound her car had started making. She feared that it would be incredibly expensive to fix. Bella told her that Garrett could look at it in the afternoon and she finally left. As soon as the door shut behind her, Bella busted out laughing.

Grinning, I trapped her against the counter, pressing the full length of my body against hers. "What am I missing?" I asked.

She wiped at the corners of her eyes. "That was my Sunday school teacher when I was a kid."

I barked out a loud laugh. "Uh, oh. Are you feeling convicted? You're going to have to hit the pew on Sunday to repent for all of the lustful feelings you've been having for me."

She smiled, her eyes sparkling and playful. "I am not lusting after you," she said before laughing warmly. "Where'd you get that idea from?"

I chuckled. "Uh, from the way you attacked my lips a minute ago? You _so_ want me, Counter Girl. And I think it's now _my_ turn to do the attacking…" I said before lowering my mouth to hers and kissing the sass from her soft, perfect, edible lips.


End file.
